US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA1190

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 001190 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/18/2015 
TAGS: CA, MARR, PGOV, PREL, AID, KCRS 
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL POLICY STATEMENT CALLS FOR ENHANCED 
NORTH AMERICAN ENGAGEMENT 
 
Classified By: POLMINCOUNS Brian Flora, reasons 1.4 (b) (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary:  Ottawa unveiled its long-awaited 
International Policy Statement today, which the government 
pledged would give Canada a more prominent place on the world 
stage and provide needed focus to its first-ever effort to 
integrate defense, diplomacy, development aid, and trade. 
The document gives special prominence to U.S.-Canadian 
relations while emphasizing Canada,s independence in global 
affairs.  Canada will strive to focus its aid programs on a 
smaller number of countries and fewer sectors, will roll-out 
a Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force (START) and 
increase the size of its military to enhance its ability to 
respond to global crises, and will give increased emphasis to 
emerging economies such as India and China, while renewing 
its emphasis on multilateralism.  The Opposition was quick to 
disparage the rollout as politically motivated, and lamented 
the lack of &bold thinking and strategic decision making,8 
with targeted critiques of each of the segments.  We see this 
document as a very good framework that provides the U.S. with 
a host of opportunities for enhanced engagement.  End Summary 
 
Long Time Coming 
---------------- 
 
2. (SBU) The Liberal Cabinet rolled out the long-awaited 
International Policy Statement April 19 in a press conference 
held by the Ministers of Defense, Foreign Affairs, 
International Cooperation, and International Trade.  The 190 
page document is available on line at 
www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/cip-pic/ips/ips-home-en .asp) and 
includes separate sections for defense, commerce, foreign 
aid, and diplomacy.  Poloff was given a preview of the IPS by 
Foreign Affairs Canada,s Policy Planner Christ Cooter a day 
prior (Cooter emphasized that we were the only country 
receiving such a pre-screening).  Cooter pointed out the 
highlights of the document and its evolution. 
 
3. (SBU) Cooter said that the recent review of the IPS by 
Canadian scholar Jennifer Walsh, who was charged by PM Martin 
to find a controlling idea to center the statement, failed to 
draw out the &big idea8 but did help with wordsmithing and 
changed the structure slightly on the margins.  He admitted 
the timing was not optimal but thought that the controlling 
ideas were largely bi-partisan and would survive a change in 
government. 
 
Emphasis on North America 
------------------------- 
 
4. (C) Cooter pointed to several of the highlights of the IPS: 
 
--    First, an emphasis on North America and specifically on 
U.S.-Canadian relations.  He said that in each of the four 
sections, and indeed in many of the subsections, there is a 
specific place for bilateral issues and considerations.  In 
the Prime Minister,s foreword, the first section is Canada 
in North America, which states unequivocally that &all 
Canadians understand that our most important relationship is 
with the United States.8 
 
Having said that, Cooter conceded that there is not too much 
that is truly original in this area.  Several ideas have been 
considered by Policy Planning over the past months, such as a 
sort of &North American Davos8 as a way to increase 
dialogue and unity.  In the end they settled for a loosely 
conceived North American Network to broaden the range of 
dialogue between Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans. 
 
--    Second, trade disputes are reducing the strength of 
North America as an informal bloc, and in a world of rising 
powers this can only reduce our mutual global influence and 
prosperity.  Improving our methods of resolving trade 
disputes is given special attention in several places. 
 
--    Third, the IPS calls for new structure for development 
assistance that will focus Canada,s aid programs better 
geographically and sectorally.  By 2010 two-thirds of 
Canada,s aid money will go to 25 countries and will be 
focused on good governance, health, education, private sector 
development, environmental sustainability, and gender 
equality.  The majority of these countries are in Africa. 
While Canada will not try to meet the conventionally accepted 
target of .7 percent of GDP in foreign assistance, it will 
increase its assistance by eight percent per year leading to 
a doubling of foreign aid between 2001 and 2010. 
 
--    Fourth, Cooter said, the military will receive a plus 
up of 5,000 soldiers, primarily targeted to assist with 
failed and failing states (septel will cover the defense 
portion of the IPS). 
 
--    Fifth, the foreign affairs agencies will be transformed 
in order to better deliver on the objectives of the new 
strategy.  Defense Minister Bill Graham at the press 
conference on April 19 referred to this as &eliminating 
silos8 so that the different agencies work seamlessly rather 
than in isolation from one another. 
 
--    Sixth, the IPS highlights the Prime Minister,s focus 
at the last UNGA of the &responsibility to protect.8 
Several of the functional areas include objectives and 
programs to strengthen the ability of the global community to 
assist the victims of man-induced catastrophes.  Cooter said 
this is one of Canada,s key international defense 
priorities. 
 
--    Seventh, as one of the concrete measures Canada will 
take to help failed and failing states, the Stabilization and 
Reconstruction Task Force was created &to ensure that there 
is longer-term planning for early response to international 
crises and that the required skills and expertise are at the 
ready.  Existing agencies will be used to source experts and 
individuals or groups whose capacities are required.  They 
will be dispatched by those responsible, including the 
military or CIDA.8 
 
Opposition: This is not Mr. Roger,s Neighborhood 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
5. (SBU) The Opposition did not waste any time criticizing 
the policy statement.  In Question Period MP James Moore 
blasted the IPS as an effort at distraction by a government 
that &has done nothing in the foreign affairs arena for 12 
years and now wants to walk away from a scandal.8  The 
opposition's Shadow Cabinet held a parallel press conference 
an hour after the government's in which they attacked the 
strategy. 
 
--    Foreign Affairs critic Stockwell Day lamented the lack 
of an increase in real defense capabilities, saying &we are 
not dealing with a Sesame Street neighborhood where the 
biggest threat is Oscar the Grouch,8 but a world with real 
dangers that requires a serious military. 
 
--    Trade critic Belinda Stronach keyed on the inability of 
the Liberal government to improve trade relations with the 
US, and called for a strengthened effort fix the broken 
dispute settlement mechanism.  &There should have been a 
political commitment to pursue a new set of concrete 
negotiations on dispute settlement and a political action 
plan for engaging the United States systematically at the 
Cabinet level.8 
 
--    International Cooperation critic Ted Menzies pointed 
out that Haiti, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iraq are not on the 
list of the 25 key countries and these priority countries 
would instead be getting the crumbs from the remaining 
one-third of Canada,s foreign aid.  He said its established 
criteria for receiving aid &abandons the poorest of the poor 
for the easy wins.8 
 
--    Defense critic Gordon Campbell said that the 
Conservatives were pleased to see that the document had a 
number of the key planks of the Conservative's defense policy 
paper issued a year prior.  He said that in addition to the 
obviously required transformation of the armed forces, there 
is an even more urgent need to transform the Ministry of 
Defense. 
 
6. (C) Comment: Politically motivated or not, it is frankly 
good to finally get this policy statement on the street.  It 
strikes us as a solid document that will add an element of 
coordinated focus to Canadian foreign policy and should help 
Ottawa to play a more active role in the world.  There are a 
number of opportunities in the statement for enhanced 
engagement with the U.S., not only on global issues but in 
trade and hemispheric issues as well.  The Opposition will 
probably not gain any points in their criticism of the 
statement, most of which would likely survive a change of 
government in any event. 
 
Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa 
 
DICKSON