US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA1734

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 001734 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2013 
TAGS: HA, AORC, EAID, EFIN, PGOV, PREL, Elections 
SUBJECT: CANADA: APPEAL TO DONORS FOR HAITIAN ELECTIONS 
BUDGET SHORTFALL 
 
REF: SECSTATE 101620 
 
Classified By: POLMINCOUNS Brian Flora, reasons 1.4 (b) (d) 
 
 1. (SBU) Summary:  Poloff and Econoff met with a combined 
Foreign Affairs Canada and CIDA team led by FAC Director for 
the Caribbean and Central America Christian Lapointe June 7 
to discuss the Haitian elections budget and the general 
situation in Haiti.  Canadian officials feel it is important 
for the US, Canada, Brazil and France to "shake the tree" on 
security problems.  The GOC asked if the USG $8 million in 
additional funding for the elections will be paid to the UNDP 
election fund, and asked if we know the composition of the US 
delegation to the June 16-17 Montreal conference.  End Summary 
 
MONTREAL CONFERENCE 
------------------- 
 
2. (C) Lapointe said that Canada's efforts at present are 
focused on the success of the Montreal conference.  The GOC 
sees this meeting as a follow-up to the Cayenne conference, 
but hopes that it will go beyond Cayenne in developing a 
closer partnership with the IGOH and shifting decision making 
more to Haitians.  There will be a delegation of 13 
individuals from the IGOH in attendance, including 5 
Ministers, four representatives from the provisional 
electoral committee, and Chief of Police Leon Charles. 
Lapointe said he is optimistic about pinning down further 
support in Montreal. 
 
3. (C) In Montreal, Elections Canada officials plan to meet 
with technical elections experts of key donor countries the 
morning of June 16 to discuss a proposal for an elections 
steering committee.  Lapointe said that there will not be any 
involvement by Canadian civil society in this conference as 
it is government to government talks, but Canada continues to 
hope to involve the Haitian diaspora in reconstruction and 
development.  He asked if we knew yet who from the U.S. would 
be attending the conference. 
 
SECURITY IN HAITI 
----------------- 
 
4. (C) Lapointe said Canada has high hopes that the joint 
visit by the PM's Special Advisor on Haiti Denis Coderre and 
A/S Roger Noriega will energize MINUSTAH and make clear to 
the Haitian leadership its role in improving security and 
stability.  The GOC highly values this partnership.  He 
expressed a concern that MINUSTAH simply does not have 
adequate intelligence to act forcefully.  He mentioned that 
when the Canadian forces were there they had a strong 
intelligence capacity but when it was withdrawn the Brazilian 
contingent was not able to replace it. 
 
5. (C) Lapointe said that Aristide supporters are emboldened 
by support from outsiders and there is a need to convey a 
strong message to key countries that are facilitating 
Aristide's continued involvement in Haiti, e.g. the Dominican 
Republic and South Africa.  They said that the GOC has 
decided it is time to crack down on appeals to violence made 
by Aristide supporters in Canada, and make it clear that such 
activities will not be tolerated.  One member of the Canadian 
team wondered why the U.S. has not moved to indict Aristide 
on drug trafficking charges, as we have done with so many of 
his close colleagues.  The team sees violence increasing as 
elections near, instigated by individuals both inside and 
outside of Haiti.  Lapointe mentioned that Canada has a new 
project to professionalize the police with long-term senior 
level leaders training for the post-MINUSTAH period. 
 
ELECTIONS UPDATE 
---------------- 
 
6. (SBU) Yves Petillon, CIDA Director for Haiti, Cuba and the 
Dominican Republic, said that Canada is largely satisfied 
with the way election funding is shaping up.  They think that 
the additional funding from the USG and the EU will be almost 
adequate to cover the budget requirements identified by the 
UN ($2-3 million shortfall).  He asked whether the US $8 
million could be used for observation as well as the 
management of elections, and whether it would be disbursed 
through the UNDP fund, which is how Canada and the EU are 
making their contribution.  Petillon said that Jean Pierre 
Kingsley of Elections Canada will continue to play a key role 
and will participate actively in Montreal.  He also mentioned 
that Canada will not be providing additional funding above 
and beyond the CN $17 million (USD $14 million) it has 
committed for registration. 
7. (SBU) With regards to the elections themselves, the team 
is concerned that the registration process will be delayed. 
Lapointe said that there are supposed to be 150 offices 
established but there are significantly delays in doing so, 
especially after the torching of one office in the north. 
Lapointe said this could delay the process by 5-6 weeks but 
believes that a postponement of this length would be 
manageable.  However, the clock is ticking and every day 
counts and if the delay is longer than this it could send a 
negative signal to Haiti and the international community 
regarding the viability of the political process. 
 
Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa 
 
DICKSON