US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA2344

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 002344 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR INL, WHA/CAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, PREL, EWWT, PBTS, CA, MOPS 
SUBJECT: CANADA GIVES POSITIVE SOUNDINGS ON GREAT LAKES 
SHIPRIDER 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  After meeting with a U.S. Shiprider team 
on July 28 and offering positive soundings on a way to move 
forward on the two-week proof of concept phase of the 
program, GOC lawyers and operators met August 2 and agreed to 
continue joint planning for a possible program in 
September-October.  The GOC still needs a firm decision at 
the ADM level, which is expected in the next two weeks, but 
meanwhile, GOC lawyers are reviewing our draft dipnote and 
RCMP operators are making preparations for the required 
training.  If all goes well we could see boats in the water 
in late September or early October.  This is an excellent 
example of U.S. interagency cooperation and if successful, 
could break ground for enhanced cooperation with Canada in 
other areas.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) On July 28, 2005, DHS operators and attorneys met in 
Ottawa with Canadian counterparts for consultations on the 
Great Lakes Shiprider proof of concept.  The shiprider 
concept would allow for the provisional formation of joint 
units of American Coast Guard and RCMP officers on each 
country's vessels to provide for enhanced law enforcement 
capabilities in the difficult to delineate Great Lakes border 
area and other boundary waters.  GOC officials have been 
interested in the program for several years, but have not 
been able to get beyond the political fear over sovereignty 
or a prospective incident involving a high profile arrest or 
shooting of a Canadian citizen by an American officer. 
Deputy Prime Minister McLellan and Justice Minister Cotler 
have expressed support for the program and directed their 
staffs to move it forward. 
 
3. (SBU) The legal meeting was led on the U.S. side by LCDR 
Brad Kieserman (USCG Office of Maritime and International 
Law) and included Ayman Rizkalla (ICE Principal Legal 
Advisor's Office) and Embassy Poloff.  Lawyers on the 
Canadian side represented Justice, Customs, DFAIT, PSEP-C, 
Trade, Immigration, Firearms Center, Fisheries and Oceans, 
and Foreign Affairs.  Lead Canadian negotiator Michael 
Zigayer (Senior Counsel, Department of Justice) said that the 
shiprider issue was a high priority for Canada after the 
recent Halifax meeting and this meeting was intended to 
explore what mechanisms exist in Canadian law to give U.S. 
officers status in Canada as peace officers.  The two sides 
then walked through a series of issues to be resolved, in all 
cases focusing only on requirements for the 2-week pilot 
project: 
 
--    Designation of Officers:  The U.S. officers would 
receive a special title -- e.g. Supernumerary Special 
Constable -- which would confer authority as peace officers. 
They would have the same enforcement authority as the RCMP, 
with the same protections and exemptions.  Also, they would 
have the same prohibitions in terms of weapons -- no pepper 
spray, large magazines for weapons, automatic weapons, etc. 
The Canadian side thought this was a manageable issue. 
 
--    Reporting Requirements:  There will be a need for the 
U.S. officers to check in with Canadian Customs every time 
they begin a shift and to check out when they finish.  The 
team thought there could be a 24-hour call center to manage 
this. 
 
--    Citizenship:  The issue of work permits was raised.  It 
could be handled by either giving the U.S. officers work 
permits, based on the fact that they would not be taking jobs 
away from Canadians, or simply ignoring the issue because 
their duties do not constitute "work" in a traditional 
framework.  They will recommend the latter. 
 
--    Communication and Info-Sharing:  The Arar inquiry is 
the context.  The Arar final report and recommendations will 
not be out by the time we put boats in the water this year so 
the current climate is what is important, although it could 
change before we arrive at a permanent program.  Within the 
current climate there were not any show-stoppers, just a good 
deal of reticence on information sharing in general. 
 
--    Import-Export Laws:  This was the only area where there 
was not a clear way forward.  The issue is that to bring 
firearms into the country requires a permit and there are 
"nasty penalties" for not complying.  The Canadian side 
suggested three options: 1) presume no export or import, 
essentially ignoring the law as being ambiguous in the case 
of law enforcement officers, 2) issue permits, 3) assume risk 
that no one notices.  The sense we got was that they would 
recommend some variant of option one.  One key concern was 
that it could affect the prosecution of a case if a boat was 
intercepted on the waters and the defense argued that there 
was something amiss in how it was taken down (e.g. U.S. 
officials carrying arms illegally).  The bottom line was that 
even if certain cases were lost in court, the goods would be 
off the street (or off the water), and public fallout would 
be minimal.  There may be a need for legislation in the 
future but not in time for the trial concept. 
 
--    Criminal and Civil Liability:  Since cross-designation 
gives U.S. officers the same status as their Canadian 
counterparts this was not deemed to be a problem. 
 
4. (SBU) The U.S. side then discussed how we have worked 
around all similar issues on our side, to include training 
and certification, marking of vessels, weapons of RCMP 
officers on board US vessels, information sharing, reporting, 
and arrest authority (to include what happens when we pick up 
migrants). 
 
5. (SBU) In a parallel meeting between operators of the US 
Coast Guard and RCMP, the following issues were discussed: 
 
--    The two sides reviewed training options, which would 
start with basic boat familiarization and survival training 
on August 15 regardless of whether the concept has been 
approved.  After approval there will be a requirement for an 
additional 30 days of training.  Hull Island for boat 
training and Detroit Winsor for classroom training were 
agreed as the best venues. 
--    There will be 4 boats maximum (2 U.S. and 2 Canadian) 
involved in the program. 
--    The crews will be 4 American and 1 Canadian on the U.S. 
boats, and 2 RCMP and 1 American on the Canadian vessels. 
Both will use a blue light for identification. 
--    There was some reticence on the part of some of the 
Canadian officials with regards to a media layout.  Some 
thought it could be a positive tie-in with the SPP, others 
thought it would be best to keep it quiet given the political 
sensitivities. 
 
6. (SBU) Timing/Decision:  The Canadian team said it would 
continue its internal discussions on August 2, and if 
approved in a directors level interagency meeting, would move 
the concept to the ADM level for approval.  The August 2 
meeting was held as planned and the recommendation was made 
to move the concept forward, which DFAIT lawyers say should 
take place in the next two weeks.  Planners have been in 
contact with regards to training, and lawyers have begun to 
compare notes on the draft dipnote language.  There will also 
be an MOU that DHS/ICE will need from the RCMP laying out the 
details for RCMP officers on US vessels, and the Canadians 
will also have a similar MOU for us.  If all goes as planned, 
the first boats could be in the water in late September. 
 
7. (SBU) Comment:  This process has been a tremendous example 
of U.S. inter-agency cooperation that could well translate 
into future successes.  We also hope that a shiprider 
protocol may serve as a stepping-stone to more routine U.S. 
and Canadian law enforcement joint operations along our 
contiguous land and sea frontier.  For instance, we would 
welcome the expansion of the already successful IBET program 
to include joint (vs. the current parallel) patrols, and the 
addition of overflight and landing provisions for IBET air 
components. 
 
Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa 
 
WILKINS