“4. Sunday, November 6, 1988 - North Shore News 1 LIKE the description of the free trade deal as being ‘‘almost visionary.’’ That’s very Canadian, eh? Thus, I was horrified when a coalition of 90 environmental groups came out with a report claiming that ‘‘the enormity of the trade deal’s environmental im- plications is truly breathtak- ing...there are very few en- vironmental issues that are likely to bz untouched by the agree- ment...its effects promise to be varied, wide-ranging and adverse.”’ The main critique is that there will be new economic pressures to throw aside pollution controls as businesses here try to compete with the United States, ‘‘where en- vironmental regulations are often looser.”” Now this is 2 contentious point. There is an assumption, shared by many Canadians, that Canada is somehow superior to the United States when it comes to en- vironmental laws. But this holier-than-thou at- titude of Canadians is a self-delu- sion. In terms of wildlife preservation, marine mammal protection and maritime pollution regulations — areas that | happen to know about — the Americans are years ahead of us. Canada’s inadequacy in these areas, in fact, should be a matter of national shame. Certain- ly it is a national disgrace. Lawrence Solomon, a researcher at Energy Probe, has written “‘whether the free trade deal will be for the better or the worse (in terms of the environment) will largely depend on how it is inter- preted and, more importantly, on how subsidies are defined in up- coming closed-door negotiations.”’ “Tronically,’’ Solomon adds, ‘‘if Mr. Turner and Mr. Broadbent are correct in their prediction that free trade will lead to Canada’s har- monized environmental standards between the two countries, Canada’s environment will likely benefit, sir ce U.S. standards — despite claims to the contrary — are generally higher than those in * strictly personal Canada.”’ Simon Reisman, the man who, after all, negotiated the deal, says that he has read the environmental coalition’s report carefully, and finds it ‘‘completely without foun- dation.”’ Writes Reisman: ‘‘One can most charitably assume that the authors of this treatise do rot understand the agreement or the GATT (Genera! Agreement on Trade and Tariffs). For example, with respect to environmentai standards, the agreement sta‘ 2s specifically that standards can be set ‘to protect health, safety, essential security, the environment or consumer in- terests. " Te is an assumption, shared by many Canadians, that Canada is somehow superior to the United States when it cores to environmental laws.’’ Furthermore, according to Reisman, ‘‘Article XX of the GATT, which is incorporated in the agreement, states, ‘Nothing in the agreement shail be construed to prevent the adoption or enforce- ment by any contracting party of measures iecessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health,’ This is all very reassuring. En- vironmental standards in Canada may in fact improve under free trade, and protection of en- vironmental interests appears to be built inte the deal. But theve is another concern that these reasonable aspects of the trade pact do not, perhaps cannot, address — ‘‘cannot’’ because the thrust of the pact is ultimately at odds with long-term environmental protection. Because energy is exempted from the pact’s anti-subsidy provi- sions, subsidized energy megupro- jects stand to become the biggest, indeed the only remaining pork- AND HIS DE SAUGHTER Martha who will be autographing the new biography penned by Martha DON HARRON: A PARENT CONTRADICTION at the PARK ROYAL SHOPPING CENTRE TUES. NOV. 8th -—-— 4:00-2:00 p.m. CAN'T MAKE IT? you can reserve your autogranhed cepy by 926-6216 pPersonaneed can be reserved barrel game around. And here is where Canada is already one of the worst offenders in the world. Successive gov- ernments have thrown billions at the energy sector to keep prices down, with the result that Cana- dians today are energy pigs. We waste more energy per capita than anybody else on Earth. And thus we contribute enormously to acid rain and the greenhouse ef- fect. Little wonder our snivelling about acid rain is not taken seriously by anyone south of the border; relatively, we are a bigger part of the problem than they are. Perhaps the most seriously wor- risome aspect of the trade pact concerns its fundamental premise, i.e. industrial growth. All three major parties have stated that they are willing to adopt the recommendations of the United Nations World Commis- sion of Environment and Development, popularly known as the Brundtland Commission, which discredited the usual quick- fix solutions of safety regulations and pollution control enactments and opted instead for integrating economic and environmental con- siderations into sustainable development. The Brundtland Commission recognizes that the best decisions are made at the local level, by the communities most involved, and that control over resources should therefore shift away from remote governments, Sustainable development assumes that economic and environmental health go hand in hand, and you can’t have one, in the long-run, without the other, It is difficult to see how the trade pact will work out in this direction. It is therefore difficult to see how the Tories, if they get their majority and the trade deal goes through, will be able to live up to their pledge to initiate an era of sustainable developnient @ Election siate chosen WEST VANCOUVER Citi- zens For Good Government (WVCGG) have chosen the slate of candidates that they are going to endorse in the upcoming municipal elec- tion. By MAUREEN CURTIS Contributing Writer Incumbent Mayor Don Lanskail has won their backing, along with aldermanic candidates Alex Brokenshire, Andy Danyliu, Rod Day, Tom Reid, Carol Ann Reynolds and Mark Sager. For the school board elections, the WVCGG have chosen Pamela Clark, Jean Ferguson, Margot Furk, Michael McDougall and Michael Smith. The decision was made by ballot Thursday evening, following a process that involved an Oct. 27 all-candidates meeting, and half- hour intesviews of the candidates with the group’s 13-member board. All the candidates were asked for their positions on various issues, although the WVCGG do not take a stand on them. CANADIAN | CLOSET SHOPS 986-4263 f Grateful Wasn't Aborted Sandra Wade, adopted 18 years ago — “I challenge anyone to say it would have been a just act to destroy my life by abortion.”’ “It's hard to believe my life was a mistake for my natural mother; yet I guess it was. But, for my adoptive parents, that same mistake was the fulfilment of a dream. I wish my natural mother were here today. I think she’d be proud.” “Im glad I was born in 1969 when my pre-natal life was protected by law.” Advertisement sponsored North Shore Pro Life ad IMPAIRED DRIVING Ardagh Hunter Turner Barristers & Solicitors #300-1401 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver 986-4366 Free Initial Consultation CHUCK COOK, M.P., on _ COMMITMENT TO PEOPLE WE ARE A GOVERNMENT | THAT ACTS. * More flexible, affordable quality child-care strategy creating § 200,000 new day care spaces. * Action against drugs and J pornography * Extension of benefits and tax & reform for senicrs * Employment Equity Act for women, minorities and the disabled * Appointment of Minister of Youth & Challenge employ- § ment program * (increased funding for the disabled APC. GOVERNMENT CARES ABOUT { YOUR FUTURE RE-ELECT CHUCK COOK, Si M.P. Authorized by Cliff Grandison, Ofticial Agent for Chuck Cock. 4