Unleashing the watchdog

I'm generally of the opinion that genuine free trade (as opposed to the selective protectionism that currently masquerades under the title) has to be seen as a positive, particularly when it's counterbalanced by equal cooperation on issues other than trade. But that multiple-issue cooperation has to actually accomplish something to be of any value. And as the Globe and Mail points out, the pollution watchdog created to try to dull opposition to NAFTA has been utterly ineffective:

NAFTA's environmental agency is supposed to be a watchdog that alerts North Americans to pollution threats, but it often doesn't have much of a bark, let alone a bite...

The commission's difficulty in explaining these kinds of pollution problems is being noticed. Those familiar with the workings of the Montreal-based organization say it is being hobbled by government meddling and shrinking budgets that don't allow it to do extensive work.

"The CEC was supposed to be the environmental watchdog of North America, and it's been turned into a house pet by government restrictions and budget cuts," contends Stewart Elgie, a University of Ottawa professor and environmental law specialist...

(The CEC's annual) Taking Stock report isn't a truly independent look at pollution trends. Like all of its reports, the CEC allows NAFTA governments to pore over its findings and try to alter them before they are released publicly. This is an unusual practice for an agency that is supposed to alert the public to pollution threats. Prof. Elgie says the governments have "raised an ever-increasing stream of objections and complaints" about CEC reports and try to "sanitize" them...

The CEC also appears to be gun shy about going after important environmental topics that risk irking the NAFTA governments. For instance, even though the trade bloc is the world's biggest greenhouse-gas emitter, the CEC doesn't work on climate change.

Critics say the Bush administration blocks such efforts, although Mr. Kennedy denies this...

(T)he CEC's next topic of investigation is guaranteed to offend no one. It's on energy-efficient buildings.

Mr. Kennedy says "there is a lot of support" by the governments for it. "I think we've got a real winner in this topic."

Needless to say, any remotely useful watchdog shouldn't be measuring success by its ability to act as a cheerleader. And the imbalance between trade and environmental issues is highlighted by the presence of so much political interference in the CEC even as NAFTA was designed in large part as a guarantee against political interference in trade.

It's far from clear from the article whether the CEC can be salvaged to any meaningful degree, or whether any true North American environmental cooperation will have to occur under a substantially different body (and presumably one created once some less reactionary governments are in power). But a commission with neither the resources to gather its own information nor the independence to publish anything controversial can't be making much of a contribution to public knowledge. And with the environment ranking as the top issue for a large number of Canadians, there's a plain need to ensure that Canada cooperates with its neighbours internationally to build knowledge and capacity - not only to divert attention from a trade-first attitude.