It's new, improved NAFTA Plus Canadians must take a closer look at NAFTA - the forthcoming North American Free Trade Agreement. That’s the view of Douglas College Political Science Instruc- tor Marlene Hancock after she attended an economic conference for senior interna- tional bureaucrats in England April 13-17. Hancock says she became concerned after a presentation by Gordon Smith, Cana- dian Ambassador to the European Community. Smith told delegates that NAFTA is designed to allow membership for countries anywhere in the world, not just Canada, Mexico and the United States. "Smith said that ‘we are talking about NAFTA Plus. NAFTA is set up for trade lib- eralization, not as an exclusionary trade group’. Smith said NAFTA ‘is not a closed club’," says Hancock, who is completing her Ph.D. in the role of expertise in trade negotiations, and attended the conference as a member of the Canadian Institute for International Studies. "My reaction is we, in Canada, have not been given enough information on NAFTA. My impression has been that if there was any expansion, it would be into Latin America but NAFTA Plus would open up the agreement to Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. Gordon continued from page 1 I had delegates from Turkey and Taiwan say to me ‘we would like to join NAFTA too’." Hancock says her greatest concern is that NAFTA Plus could involve Canada with trade beyond the U.S. and Mexico in areas in which Canada could have difficulty com- peting. NAFTA is based on the model of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the U.S. One of the FTA’s major flaws, from a Canadian viewpoint, is that it features a complicated dispute resolution mecha- nism that has often favoured U.S. over Canadian interests. Attended by more than 70 ambassadors and trade representatives from around the world, the conference was entitled General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the European Community. It was held at the Wilton Park Conference Centre, a secluded 1,000-acre estate near Brighton which dates back to Saxon times, and is used for high level meetings by the Brit- ish Foreign and Commonwealth Office. According to its brochure, the centre opened in 1946 and "is designed to stimulate off-the-record discussions and participants are encouraged not to be unduly diplomatic." a Gordon became Acting Dean of Educa- tional and Student Services last fall, and was to be in that position for one year. While not completely happy about mov- ing before that job is done, she says the present tasks mesh well with the past ones. "I think I’ve achieved a number of my objectives in Educational and Student Services, and some that I haven’t com- pleted I'll be taking with me to the new position. There is good interaction be- tween the two positions, especially in terms of employees and students." Working with people has been Gordon’s focus since she came to Douglas College in 1983 as a counsellor. She became Direc- tor of Student Services in 1988 and also served as Acting Dean of Educational & Student Services for seven months in 1991. "I’m really interested in the ‘people’ as- pect of the new position. It involves high interaction with people, and that’s my background. I really believe in a consult- ative process. People need to be involved in what's happening around them, and to them." A Henry continued from page 1 of the fifty people I’ve contacted will @ appear." Waack has seen many changes during his 23 years at the college. Some music classes were held in the North Surrey United Church before the present New Westminster campus was built in 1983. Since the church also housed a daycare, Waack had to schedule classes around tod- dlers’ nap times. Once he was drafted to be a witness for a wedding because the wedding party was one person short. Many years have passed since then, and now Waack is pleased to do one more mu- sical, especially because proceeds from the show will support the new Henry Waack Music Scholarship Award for col- lege music students. "The whole thing makes me feel humble, but if we can help young talent, it’s great." Try to Remember runs May 15 at 8pm and May 16 at 2pm at the college’s Per- forming Arts Theatre. For tickets call 527-5360. & Mia Gordon Is now Dean of Human Resources and College Development.