Terms of Reference Reports - Status Report and Additional Resources *New* NAFTA Mutual Recognition Document NAFTA Meeting Minutes NAFTA Meeting Reports NSPS Meeting Reports CCLS Champion Committee Members Terms of Reference have been developed for this project that reflect the past committee activity. The project members continue to work within the following scope. Any sub-agreement to the NAFTA must have the endorsement and support of all stakeholders. To some degree, it means reaching the lowest common denominator with respect to terms agreeable to all parties. Sub-agreements may be entered into by economic sectors or professions and so it is proper that the national representatives of the professions be the lead agencies to negotiate the international agreement. In this instance, the agencies are CCLS, NSPS and FECITEUM A.C. The circle of influence is intended to include persons (and corporations) who hold a license (or certificate of registration or such other names instrument to prove competency and membership in a Canadian surveying association or corporation). The survey or geomatics activity by such persons or corporations is all encompassing and includes those gray areas frequented by engineers, planners, geologists, photogrammetrists, hydrographers, GIS consultants, etc, excepting boundary line determination. The geomatic definition is fashioned after that promulgated by FIG and will be endorsed by NSPS, FECITEUM and CCLS. The key element of the agreement will be reciprocity. No party can impose conditions which are unreasonable for the others to meet. It is recognized that the ongoing NAFTA discussions and preliminary international trade discussions surrounding the World Trade Organization's (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) have many overlapping issues and themes. With the inclusion of the WTO in its terms of reference, the Committee will liaise with Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) and Industry Canada (IC) representatives regarding the agreement on behalf of the CCLS and provide and/or distribute information as required. The US NAFTA Review Committee that replaced the NSPS NAFTA Committee has developed a revised MRD. It is referred to as MRD8 and Mexico is working on MRD9. The next formal meeting will concentrate on negotiating the three MRDs into one that is acceptable to all. Only the Canadian MRD7 has been accepted by the respective national association (CCLS) and lodged with the NAFTA Commission. It is available for viewing or copying through the link below. Terms of Reference International Committee Terms of Reference (pdf) Backgrounder for International Committee Terms of Reference (pdf) presented to CCLS AGM 2004 Reports Champion Report January 25, 2006 International Committee Report (pdf) to CCLS AGM 2005 International Committee Report (pdf) to CCLS AGM June 2004 *New* Status Report and Additional Resources Current Status of NAFTA MRA Negotiations: The Canadian Council of Land Surveyors (CCLS) International Committee has been negotiating a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) for land surveyors under the NAFTA with its counterparts in the United States and Mexico. The three parties first produced a draft agreement in 1996. The following provides a brief status report and information about the future of the negotiations. The Canadian Status: A draft MRA, prepared by the committees of the three national organizations during a series of formal meetings, has been formally presented to the CCLS Board and its member associations (MRA7). The CCLS then submitted this draft MRA (in 2003) to its federal government trade representatives as its preferred agreement in order to move the negotiations to the next stage. The Mexican Status: The FECITEUM A.C., CCLS's counterpart in Mexico, has replied with a version MRA8-3 which has been translated from the original Spanish to English and is being reviewed by the CCLS International Committee in preparation for the fall 2006 meetings of both the NSPS and CCLS. A response to FECITEUM A.C. from the CCLS committee will be forthcoming and a formal meeting may be scheduled. The American Status: The National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS), CCLS's American counterpart, circulated the draft agreement and returned an alternative draft for consideration, MRA8-2. The NSPS Executive Committee has prepared a "white paper" for the purpose of presenting all the pertinent information for state associations to make a decision on what direction to give to the Board of Directors at the fall 2006 meeting of NSPS. The state society Boards of Directors are being asked to advise their NSPS Governors of the society's opinion regarding whether NSPS should: adopt Version 8-2 of the proposed MRA; seek a revised MRA; or stop its efforts to achieve a MRA with the national surveying organizations in Canada and Mexico. It is expected that this decision will be made at the fall 2006 NSPS meeting. The NSPS has not submitted MRA8-2 to their federal trade representative. CCLS has assembled some informative documents that it feels should also be read and understood before the NSPS State Affiliates make a determination on how their Governor is to vote. These are: An open letter from the CCLS International Committee regarding: The Future of the NAFTA MRA Negotiations for Land Surveyors Additional resources referred to in the Open Letter: Ambassador Cellucci (USA Ambassador to Canada) on US/Canada relations including NAFTA The Process of Mutual Recognition Agreements under NAFTA The Office of the US Trade Representative on NAFTA – A Decade of Success NAFTA vs. State Law – A legal Opinion Will NAFTA remove state licensing requirements? 2004 NSPS NAFTA Committee response to NCEES critique of MRD7 (was never considered because the committee had been terminated) NAFTA Mutual Recognition Document version 7 English (pdf)   En français (pdf)   Spanish (pdf) NAFTA Meeting Minutes Minutes #1   English (pdf)   En français (pdf) Spanish (pdf) Minutes #2   English (pdf)   En français (pdf) Spanish (pdf) Minutes #3   English (pdf)   En français (pdf) Spanish (pdf) Minutes #4   English (pdf)   En français (pdf) Spanish (pdf) Minutes #5   English (pdf)   En français (pdf) Spanish (pdf) Minutes #6   English (pdf)   En français (pdf) Spanish (pdf) Minutes #7   English (pdf)   En français (pdf) Spanish (pdf) Minutes #8 DRAFT   English (pdf)   NAFTA Meeting Reports Report #1 (pdf) Report #2 (pdf) NAFTA Chronicles (pdf) Report #4 (pdf) Report #5 (pdf) Report #6 (pdf) Report #7 (pdf) NSPS Meeting Reports April 2006 (pdf) October 2006 (pdf) CCLS Champion Paul Church Committee Members Wayne Brubacher, Chair, and CCLS Liaison to NSPS Jim Statham Dick Wright (Past President)