US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA1248

UNCLAS OTTAWA 001248 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR DRL (KARI JOHNSTONE AND DAVID DENEHY) AND WHA/CAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM, PREL, CA 
SUBJECT: CANADA: RESPONSE TO DEMARCHE ON COMMUNITY OF 
DEMOCRACIES ELECTION STANDARDS INITIATIVE 
 
REF: A. STATE 071948 
 
     B. OTTAWA 001175 
 
1.  (SBU) Poloff delivered the demarche (per ref a) outlining 
a USG initiative to develop universal election standards that 
will be presented at the April 28-30 Community of Democracies 
(CD) Ministerial in Santiago, to Jessica Blitt, Policy 
Advisor in the Peacebuilding and Human Security Division at 
Foreign Affairs Canada (FAC), on April 20.  Blitt thanked us 
for the opportunity to review our initiative before the CD 
Ministerial, indicated that she would pass the points as 
appropriate within FAC, and advised that the Canadian 
delegation to the conference would likely be headed by Marie 
Gervais-Vidricaire, Director General of the Global Issues 
Branch at FAC. 
 
2.  (SBU) Continuing, she also said that Jean-Pierre 
Kingsley, Chief Elections Officer at Elections Canada, may 
attend as well, given his interest in the issues described in 
the USG proposal.  In a separate conversation with poloff, 
Diane Davidson, Deputy Chief Electoral Officer at Elections 
Canada, advised that Kingley would like to attend, if there 
is a meaningful role for him at the conference.  However, 
Davidson noted that the possibility that a parliamentary 
election might be called could preclude Kingsley from 
traveling abroad during this timeframe. 
 
3.  (SBU) Charge spoke with both Peter Harder, Deputy Foreign 
Minister, and Jonathan Fried, Senior Foreign Policy Advisor 
to the Prime Minister, to press the GoC to send a more senior 
representative, emphasizing that Secretary Rice would be 
announcing the initiative in Santiago and that the CD 
Ministerial was aligned closely with Canada's new 
International Policy Statement (published last week). 
 
4.  (SBU) As indicated ref b, Harder reiterated that it was 
unlikely that Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew would be able 
to attend, given the ongoing parliamentary crisis and the 
possibility that the minority Liberal government may fall at 
any point.  (Note: Harder himself is scheduled to be in 
Berlin during the timeframe of the CD Ministerial).  Fried 
agreed that the GoC should be represented at a higher level, 
and will work the issue from the Privy Council Office. 
 
Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa 
 
DICKSON