Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!alberta!auvax!louis
From: louis@auvax.UUCP (Louis Schmittroth)
Newsgroups: can.general
Subject: Re: Free Trade: Why is there no 'Plan B'?
Summary: Environmental protection should know now boundaries
Message-ID: <772@auvax.UUCP>
Date: 20 Nov 88 01:56:26 GMT
References: <410@telly.UUCP> <1826@pembina.UUCP> <6761@watcgl.waterloo.edu> <22267@watmath.waterloo.edu>
Distribution: can
Organization: Athabasca U., Alberta, Canada
Lines: 47

In article <22267@watmath.waterloo.edu>, twltims@watmath.waterloo.edu (Tracy Tims) writes:
> In article <6848@watcgl.waterloo.edu> lrbartram@watcgl.waterloo.edu (lyn bartram) writes:
> >	My personal concern lies in the area of environmental protection.
> >Even before the agreement is in place, American companies have already
> >demanded a loosening of Canadian restrictions in two crucial areas: 
> >emissions and dumping.  The agreement states that each country must accord
> >the other's citizens/businesses equal treatment.  I feel that the danger here
> >is that we will have to let the Americans do here as they do there - 
> >dump and spew.
> 
> As far as I can tell (I've read the FTA), there is nothing in it that says
> that we have to allow U.S. companies to behave as they do in the United States.
I really beg to differ with you on your offhand statement that U.S. 
companies are allowed to dump and spew, and here in lily-white and pure
Canada (especially ALBERTA) there is no dumping, no effluent, no air
pollution.  My assessment is that the U.S. is at least as far ahead in
the game of environmental protection as Canada, again, especially ALBERTA.

In the past, except for attempts by Reagan to wreck the EPA in the U.S.,
the record has been good and getting better.  I know for a fact that my
former home state of Montana has made enormous strides in protecting
the environment since I grew up there smelling smelter smoke, fishing in
waters polluted with mine tailings, and allowing miners to die of
silicosis.  

I have seen some hair-raising incidents of pollution and even breaking
of the law by the people who are supposed to enforce it -- I refer
to the way the Oldman dam was forced thru, and the many times the
Athabasca River has been polluted by Suncor and Syncrude.  

I also know that it was in the U.S. that the production of dioxins and
furans from pulp mills was first discovered, and that the banning of
2,4,5,T was done in the U.S., then Canada followed suit.

Come off it, and quit seeing all the environmental evil in the U.S.
and none in our own backyard.

You've got a chance with Bush to start over again with the acid rain
problem -- especially since he just appointed the Governor of N.H.
as his Chief of Staff, and N.H. is as damaged by acid rain as
Quebec.

-- 

Louis Schmittroth		           My employer has no opinions.
Computer Science
Athabasca University   ...{ubc-vision, ihnp4}!alberta!auvax!louis