US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA1582

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 OTTAWA 001582 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE 
 
SECSTATE FOR ECA/PE/V/R/W - EWILKES-SCOTT; 
WHA/PDA - JCARPENTER-ROCK 
MONTREAL, TORONTO AND VANCOUVER FOR PAOS; 
HALIFAX AND QUEBEC FOR CONGENS; 
CALGARY FOR PA FIELD REP; CALGARY PLEASE PASS TO WINNIPEG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, OEXC, SCUL, CA, IV Program 
SUBJECT: FY 2006 IVLP, ITT on U.S. Policymaking Process 
(Bains and Cullen) 
 
REFERENCE:  OTTAWA 1504 
 
1.   The post proposes a two-person project, subject to 
availability of nominees once approved and invited, that 
would acquaint two first-term Members of the Canadian 
Parliament to the policy-making process in the United 
States.  Through discussions with federal, state and local 
government leaders and officials, experts, lobbyists, media, 
labor organizations, and interest groups on issues that 
matter in the U.S.-Canada relationship, nominees would gain 
insight into the players and processes involved in 
formulating U.S. security, economic, trade, and social 
policies.  This project supports the Mission's goals of 
combating terrorism and strengthening ties with close allies 
and friends. 
 
2.   Nominees Navdeep BAINS, Member of Canadian Parliament 
(Liberal Pary) and Nathan CULLEN, Member of Canadian 
Parliament (New Democratic Party) both have full country 
team approval.  EVDB-formatted nomination follows: 
 
START FIXED-FORMAT TEXT (PLEASE DO NOT EDIT): 
: The following data is in a fixed format which enables 
: automated processing in Washington and should not be 
: edited except by means of the Post-EVDB software. 
EXPORT-SOURCE: POST-EVDB 
VERSION: 3.0.7 
POST-EMAIL: slw@pd.state.gov 
TRANSMITTING-POST: PAS Ottawa 
TRANSMITTING-POST-ID: 6540 
EXPORT-TYPE: BIO DATA 
START NOMINATION: 
ECA-OFFICE: E/VRW 
PROG-AGENCY-NAME: 
POST-PROJ-ID: 325 
ECA-PROJ-NO: 
PROJ-NAME: ITT - U.S. Policy Making (Bains, Cullen) 
START MEMO PROJ-DESC: 
This project would acquaint two first-term Members of the 
Canadian Parliament to the policy-making system in the 
United States, through discussions with federal, state and 
local government leaders and officials, experts, lobbyists, 
media, labor organizations, and interest groups on security, 
economic and environmental issues that matter in the U.S.- 
Canada relationship.  Specific topics will be determined in 
consultation with invitees, once approved. 
END MEMO PROJ-DESC: 
PROJ-TYPE: Individuals Traveling Together 
PROG-TYPE: IV Grant Visitor 
FY: 2006 
DEPART-POST: 
SESSION-DATE: 
RETURN-POST: 
NO-OF-PART: 2 
RANK-ORDER: 8 
START MEMO POST-OBJ: 
 
END MEMO POST-OBJ: 
START MEMO POST-RCMD: 
 
END MEMO POST-RCMD: 
ECA-OFFICE-ID: 1037 
PROG-AGENCY-ID: 
PROJ-TYPE-ID: ITT 
PROG-TYPE-ID: 29 
NOMINATING-POST-ID: 6540 
FUNDING-CNTRY-ID: 322158 
STATUS: N 
ORIGINATOR: P 
SUBJ-DISC: Politics & Parties 
START BIO: 
PREFIX: Mr. 
F-NAME: Navdeep 
M-NAME: 
L-NAME: Bains 
SUFFIX: 
POSITION-CODE: 116 
PRINCIPAL?: Yes 
GENDER: M 
DOB: 06/16/1977 
MAR-STAT: 
BIRTH-CITY: Toronto, Ontario 
BIRTH-CNTRY: Canada 
CITIZ-CNTRY: Canada 
RES-CNTRY: Canada 
START MEMO POSITION: 
Member of Parliament; 
END MEMO POSITION: 
START MEMO OTHER-POSITIONS: 
Member of the Standing Committee on Access to Information 
Privacy and Ethics 
END MEMO OTHER-POSITIONS: 
START MEMO PREV-POSITIONS: 
Financial Analyst and Certified Management Accountant - Ford 
Canada 
END MEMO PREV-POSITIONS: 
START MEMO US-TRAVEL: 
Very limited travel to the United States 
END MEMO US-TRAVEL: 
START MEMO OTHER-TRAVEL: 
Member of Canadian Parliamentary delegation to tsunami 
disaster areas in India 
END MEMO OTHER-TRAVEL: 
START MEMO EDUCATION: 
Certified Management Accountant, Society of Management 
Accountants (Ontario), 2003 
MBA, University of Windsor, 2001 
BA Administration Studies, York University, 1999 
 
END MEMO EDUCATION: 
START MEMO MEMBERSHIPS: 
Society of Management Accountants 
END MEMO MEMBERSHIPS: 
START MEMO PUBLICATIONS: 
none 
END MEMO PUBLICATIONS: 
START MEMO SPEC-CONSID: 
 
 
END MEMO SPEC-CONSID: 
FIRST-LANG: English 
ENGL-READ: 5 
ENGL-SPEAK: 5 
ENGL-COMP: 5 
START MEMO NOM-POST-OBJ: 
 
END MEMO NOM-POST-OBJ: 
START MEMO NOM-POST-RCMD: 
 
END MEMO NOM-POST-RCMD: 
START MEMO VIS-OBJ: 
 
END MEMO VIS-OBJ: 
START MEMO VIS-REC: 
 
END MEMO VIS-REC: 
NOMINATING-OFFICER: POL - Brian Flora 
START MEMO NOMINATING-JUSTIFICATION: 
Navdeep Bains Singh is a successful and recognized rookie 
Member of Parliament and a member of the governing Liberal 
Party.  He decisively won his seat in the June 2004 
election, nearly doubling the vote count of the second place 
Conservative candidate.  Bains' seat is in the heart of the 
greater Toronto area, one that is easily perceived as a left- 
leaning Liberal Party stronghold.  In combination with its 
riding density, this leads some observers to cynically, but 
not altogether inaccurately, suggest the country is run from 
Toronto. 
Bains is a new and moderate voice in the party whose 
background in corporate finance does not clearly fit with 
the stereotypical Toronto-area, left leaning Liberal. 
Despite his rookie status he has a seat on the important 
Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and 
Ethics.  This committee investigates topics such as the 
ramifications of the U.S. Patriot Act and Canadians' rights 
to information privacy and the regulation of lobbyists on 
Parliament Hill.  He also featured prominently at the recent 
Liberal Biennial Convention, held in Ottawa between March 3 
and 6.  He was seen at many policy workshops and was a 
favorite of the left-leaning Young Liberals of Canada 
despite his previous existence as a financial analyst and 
certified management accountant. 
Acquainting this open-minded, rookie Liberal MP from Toronto 
first-hand with the policy formulation process in the United 
States will allow him to form his own opinions, rather than 
leave it to older Toronto Liberals to 'teach him.'  An IVLP 
experience could very easily give an MP like Navdeep Bains a 
formative experience that he could call on when expressing 
his own growing voice in Parliament, both in the House of 
Commons, in Committees and within the Liberal Party.   This 
project supports the Mission's goals of countering terrorism 
and strengthening ties with close allies and friends. 
 
 
 
END MEMO NOMINATING-JUSTIFICATION: 
NOM-OFF: Embassy Ottawa 
SPEAKER?: No 
NOTIFY-EMB: No 
MEDIA?: No 
HOME-STAY: No 
HOME-HOSP?: Yes 
E-I-TYPE: ELEO 
NOMINEE-ID: 495 
PERSON-ID: 376 
BIRTH-CNTRY-ID: CA 
CITIZ-CNTRY-ID: CA 
RES-CNTRY-ID: CA 
FIRST-LANG-ID: EN 
E-I-TYPE-ID: E 
NOM-POST-ID: 6540 
NOM-FUNDING-CNTRY-ID: 322158 
NOM-STATUS: N 
DS2019-ACTION: 1 
DS2019-SUBJECT: 45.1001 
SPONS-FUNDS: 0 
SPONS-AGENCY1: 
USGOVT-AGENCY1: 
US-AGENCY-AMT1: 0 
USGOVT-AGENCY2: 
US-AGENCY-AMT2: 0 
INTL-ORG1: 
INTL-ORG-AMOUNT1: 0 
INTL-ORG2: 
INTL-ORG-AMOUNT2: 0 
VIS-GOVT-AMT: 0 
COMMISSION: 0 
OTHER-AMOUNT: 0 
VIS-AMOUNT: 0 
VIS-CAT: 5 
END BIO: 
START BIO: 
PREFIX: Mr. 
F-NAME: Nathan 
M-NAME: 
L-NAME: Cullen 
SUFFIX: 
POSITION-CODE: 116 
PRINCIPAL?: Yes 
GENDER: M 
DOB: 07/13/1972 
MAR-STAT: 
BIRTH-CITY: Toronto, Ontario 
BIRTH-CNTRY: Canada 
CITIZ-CNTRY: Canada 
RES-CNTRY: Canada 
START MEMO POSITION: 
Member of Parliament 
END MEMO POSITION: 
START MEMO OTHER-POSITIONS: 
Member of the Standing Committee on Environment and 
Sustainable Development 
END MEMO OTHER-POSITIONS: 
START MEMO PREV-POSITIONS: 
Human Resources Consulting Firm (Owner) Maravilla 
Consultants, Smithers, B.C. 
END MEMO PREV-POSITIONS: 
START MEMO US-TRAVEL: 
Minimal 
END MEMO US-TRAVEL: 
START MEMO OTHER-TRAVEL: 
Costa Rica, Guyana, Ecuador, Sierra Leone 
END MEMO OTHER-TRAVEL: 
START MEMO EDUCATION: 
Certificate in Conflict Resolution, Justice Institute of 
British Columbia, 2002 
Bachelor of Arts, Comparative Development & Environmental 
Resource Studies, Trent University, 1997 
 
END MEMO EDUCATION: 
START MEMO MEMBERSHIPS: 
none 
END MEMO MEMBERSHIPS: 
START MEMO PUBLICATIONS: 
none 
END MEMO PUBLICATIONS: 
START MEMO SPEC-CONSID: 
 
END MEMO SPEC-CONSID: 
FIRST-LANG: English 
ENGL-READ: 5 
ENGL-SPEAK: 5 
ENGL-COMP: 5 
START MEMO NOM-POST-OBJ: 
 
END MEMO NOM-POST-OBJ: 
START MEMO NOM-POST-RCMD: 
 
END MEMO NOM-POST-RCMD: 
START MEMO VIS-OBJ: 
 
END MEMO VIS-OBJ: 
START MEMO VIS-REC: 
 
END MEMO VIS-REC: 
NOMINATING-OFFICER: POL - Brian Flora 
START MEMO NOMINATING-JUSTIFICATION: 
Member of Parliament Nathan Cullen is a successful rookie MP 
who was recognized by The Hill Times news magazine as the 
number-one up-and-coming rookie on Parliament Hill at the 
end of the first sitting of the 38th Parliament, in December 
2004.  A member of the New Democratic Party of Canada, he 
achieved an unlikely coup by winning (by an admittedly 
narrow margin) his seat by defeating the incumbent 
Conservative Member of Parliament.  It is extremely rare for 
a New Democrat to win a seat in rural, western Canada at 
all, let alone take one from a sitting Conservative. 
The new Democratic Party of Canada is typically left- 
leaning, and a perennial 3rd place party at the national 
level, though the Liberal Party of Canada is frequently 
accused of co-opting their policies to please left-minded 
voters in their own ranks. 
Nathan Cullen is a new and moderate member of the NDP who 
appears to focus more on policy and procedure than following 
a strict, reactionary party line.  He focuses on 
environmental and social issues while acting as his party's 
Critic for National Parks, Environment and Youth.   Giving 
him first-hand observation of policy formulation in the 
United States and a chance to interact and develop contacts 
with Americans involved in issues of mutual concern to North 
American neighbors--security, economic and trade policy, 
environmental issues, and social policies--will help him 
balance realities against the myths that sometimes prevail 
with regard to U.S. positions and intentions. 
 
END MEMO NOMINATING-JUSTIFICATION: 
NOM-OFF: Embassy Ottawa 
SPEAKER?: No 
NOTIFY-EMB: No 
MEDIA?: No 
HOME-STAY: No 
HOME-HOSP?: Yes 
E-I-TYPE: ELEO 
NOMINEE-ID: 497 
PERSON-ID: 378 
BIRTH-CNTRY-ID: CA 
CITIZ-CNTRY-ID: CA 
RES-CNTRY-ID: CA 
FIRST-LANG-ID: EN 
E-I-TYPE-ID: E 
NOM-POST-ID: 6540 
NOM-FUNDING-CNTRY-ID: 322158 
NOM-STATUS: N 
DS2019-ACTION: 1 
DS2019-SUBJECT: 45.1001 
SPONS-FUNDS: 0 
SPONS-AGENCY1: 
USGOVT-AGENCY1: 
US-AGENCY-AMT1: 0 
USGOVT-AGENCY2: 
US-AGENCY-AMT2: 0 
INTL-ORG1: 
INTL-ORG-AMOUNT1: 0 
INTL-ORG2: 
INTL-ORG-AMOUNT2: 0 
VIS-GOVT-AMT: 0 
COMMISSION: 0 
OTHER-AMOUNT: 0 
VIS-AMOUNT: 0 
VIS-CAT: 5 
END BIO: 
END NOMINATION: 
END FIXED-FORMAT TEXT: 
 
 
 
 
DICKSON, CHARGE