US embassy cable - 03OTTAWA2351

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 OTTAWA 002351 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CAN, EB/TPP/ABT/ATP, EB/EPPD/PD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR HOMELAND SECURITY COUNCIL - MANN 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY - 
KERR 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR OFFICE OF INFORMATION AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS 
 
DHS/BCBP for Bonner 
 
DHS OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - Arcos and Kinney 
 
STATE PASS USTR FOR SAGE Chandler, AND OMB FOR John Morall 
AND Fumie Yakota 
 
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY (Bill 
Steiger) 
 
Pass FDA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, TBIO, PREL, CA 
SUBJECT: Canada seeks "Collective Security" Approach on Food 
Safety 
 
REF: OTTAWA 0789 (Border Facts And Economic Impact) 
 
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Summary: 
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1.  The Canadian Government desires to work closely with USG 
on biosecurity and harmonize forthcoming regulations 
stemming from the Bioterrorism Act (BTA).  During an August 
12 meeting with Robert Wright, number two at the Privy 
Council Office (PCO) and overseer of Canada's border 
security efforts, Wright emphasized that a principal 
objective of the GoC is to act in concert with the USG in 
order to enhance the collective physical and economic 
security of Canada and the United States.  Wright focused on 
FDA advance prior notice rules as a specific example of an 
area where collaboration would enhance collective security. 
Wright expressed a strong desire that USG and GoC work 
closely and share information during the development of such 
regulations that may have an effect on the physical and 
economic security of both countries.  More immediately, 
Wright asked how the GoC and USG might, even at this late 
stage, cooperate to ensure that forthcoming FDA rules 
account for the deeply integrated nature of the Canada-U.S. 
food market.  We assured Wright that the USG has heard GOC 
concerns and request Washington provide us with any 
information that may further assuage GOC concerns.  End 
Summary 
 
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GoC wants to contribute to "Collective Security" 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
2.  Deputy Chief of Mission, accompanied by other State, 
Agriculture and Customs officers met with Robert Wright, 
Assistant Secretary to Cabinet and Coordinator for Security 
and Intelligence, for the Privy Council Office (PCO) August 
12. Also present were Graham Flack, Director of the PCO 
Border Task Force, Anthony Ritchie, Senior Policy Advisor, 
Security and Intelligence, and other PCO staff.  The PCO 
manages the Canadian government bureaucracy, combining some 
of the functions of the U.S. National Security Council, the 
Office of Management and Budget, and the White House staff. 
Wright is also the principal assistant to Deputy Prime 
Minister Manley and Canada's point man on the Ridge-Manley 
"Smart Border" process. This is a new job for Wright - who 
is a long-time GOC senior mandarin.  The intent of the 
meeting was an introductory call and to allow Wright to 
discuss issues we knew were on his mind. 
 
3.  Wright started the meeting by expressing his 
professional and personal appreciation for the mature and 
helpful manner in which the U.S. responded to the SARS and 
BSE crises.  Unlike other countries, the U.S. based its 
actions on sound science with a view toward assisting its 
close ally.  Wright then turned to the subject of new USG 
border-crossing rules that require pre-notification, some 
developed by U.S. Customs and others by the FDA.   He 
explained how well the process had gone, in his view, with 
US Customs in formulating the new rules, in particular U.S. 
and Canadian rules on pre-notification times and other 
details of cross-border trade.  The new rules in each 
country are now nicely meshed, Wright said.  He wants to 
accomplish the same with the upcoming FDA rules on food 
importation, but, unfortunately, he remarked, the stage is 
not being set as effectively with FDA as it was with US 
Customs. 
4.  Embassy officials outlined to Wright the USG rulemaking 
process, including the opportunity to provide comments 
during the appropriate period but not after the comment 
period has closed.  Emboffs also noted that we are confident 
that FDA is taking fully into account the detailed comments 
provided by the GoC, provincial governments and private 
sector players on the FDA rules. 
 
5.  Wright acknowledged the constraints in this particular 
rule-writing process, but emphasized that the GoC objective, 
because of the deep integration between the two countries, 
is to act in concert with the USG in order to enhance the 
collective security of Canada and the United States.  Wright 
told us Canada's modus operandi is for Canadian security and 
customs rules to mirror US regulation as closely as is 
possible, thus producing a harmonized security perimeter 
around Canada and the U.S.  In particular, Wright repeated 
his view that the pre-notification rules proposed by U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection on July 23, 2003 are an 
example of a collaborative process that enhances collective 
security. 
 
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Discussion Needed to Smooth Implementation 
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6. Wright suggested that the new FDA rules would be a good 
subject for the upcoming Shared Border Accord (SBA) meeting 
in San Francisco in September.  According to Wright, a forum 
is required to discuss the forthcoming rules and 
(ostensibly) how the GOC might begin to craft its own rules 
(but clearly also to allow GoC to gain a "comfort level" 
with the forthcoming rules). Note:  Mission understands that 
the BTA regulations are on the SBA agenda. End Note. 
 
7.  Wright observed that this autumn will be a sensitive 
period in Canadian politics due to a leadership transition 
and selection of a new Prime Minister, which will be 
completed this winter.  He signaled that immediate attention 
to working in concert on the FDA rules will attenuate the 
potential for any political difficulty arising in the wake 
of the rollout of the final rule in mid-October.   Wright 
suggested he did not want broad US-Canada cooperation to be 
derailed by the perception that the United States Government 
is imposing new rules that do not conform to the commitment 
of the two governments to work collectively on security and 
border issues. 
 
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FYI:  Trade in Food 
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8.  In the first phases of implementation, Wright is afraid 
the new FDA rules will hold up perishable traded goods.  US 
exporters are the dominant suppliers of Canadian 
agricultural imports, accounting for nearly two-thirds of 
the total, while Canadian exporters ship more than half of 
their agricultural exports to the United States.  Canadian 
exports of perishable food items, namely fresh and frozen 
meats, fresh fish, fruits and vegetables are vulnerable to 
spoilage and deterioration under lengthy border delays. 
According to the Ontario Food Terminal, Canada's largest 
produce terminal, virtually all U.S. exports of fresh 
produce to Canada are by truck. Rather than return to the 
United States empty, the trucks commonly return with back- 
haul. In fact, their original departure from U.S. points is 
often dependent upon timely back-haul arrangements. 
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Comment and Action Requests 
--------------------------- 
 
9.  Wright conveyed two messages during the meeting: 
 
(A) From a strategic point of view, GoC believes it is in 
the interests of both the USG and GoC to collaborate closely 
and share information during the development of new 
regulations and rules that may have an effect on the 
collective physical and economic security of the two 
countries.  The shared border and the huge volume of trade 
make Canada a special case.  The "ideal" example presented 
by the GoC is of the cooperation between CBP and CCRA. 
 
(B) More immediately, the GoC wants some indication of what 
the final FDA pre-notification rule will contain (for 
example will the final FDA rule simply employ CBP pre- 
notification timelines).  Armed with this information the 
GoC would be able to begin to craft their own rules 
harmonized with those of the FDA. 
 
10.  Comment:  Apart from the issues of process and 
cooperation between Canada and the United States, 
inefficient implementation of the rules could pose the 
possibility of major disruptions in cross border traffic and 
trade, which is not in our interests.  The fear we heard the 
other day was that when the BTA goes into effect in 
December, if dozens or hundreds of trucks must wait for FDA 
approval, or turn around in cramped border facilities, the 
resulting back-ups at the border would not just be a problem 
for Canada, but for the United States as well. 
 
11.  Action Request:  In general, we assume Washington views 
favorably Canadian desire for additional collaboration 
during the development of regulations that would have a 
major impact on the border.  Specifically, with respect to 
the BTA prior notification rules being drafted now by FDA, 
what might be done (if anything) to assuage GoC concerns? 
 
Cellucci