US embassy cable - 05HALIFAX176

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HALIFAX 000176 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, ETRD, ELTN, ASEC, CA, Trade, Canada-US Exchange, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S INITIAL VISITS TO ATLANTIC CANADA STRESS 
SECURITY AND TRADE 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  Ambassador Wilkins made two successful trips in 
rapid succession to Atlantic Canada as part of his orientation 
to the country.  His visits to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia 
focused on priority issues of security, border infrastructure 
and trade. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
New Brunswick 
 ---------------- 
 
2.  The Ambassador made a short but productive visit to New 
Brunswick and Maine July 29 - 30.  Premier Bernard Lord hosted a 
lunch for the Ambassador, the Consul General and Lord's Chief of 
Staff.  While primarily an opportunity for the Ambassador to get 
to know the Premier, a number of issues of substance were 
discussed.  In particular, Lord stressed the market-based mature 
of the Atlantic softwood lumber industry and the desire of 
Atlantic producers to be recognized as not receiving government 
subsidies.  Among other issues we raised the case of a U.S. firm 
that had been having difficulty receiving information on a 
provincial telemedicine project.  (Note:  Within days of the 
lunch the firm was contacted by the NB government to discuss the 
project.  End note.) 
 
3.  At the Calais, ME - St. Stephen, NB, border crossing the 
Ambassador received briefings from CBP Port Director David 
Lumbert and Maine's Commissioner of Transportation David Cole 
about the state of the crossing and plans to improve it with a 
new bridge and inspection area.  Calais - St. Stephen is the 8th 
busiest border crossing and one of the main truck routes between 
Atlantic Canada and the U.S.  A significant part of the cargo 
crossing the border -- which consists on the U.S. side of a 
two-lane bridge, a small inspection area and a 70-year old 
office building -- is highly perishable fresh seafood.  Lumbert 
demonstrated the operation of the port's VACIS machine which 
scans all truck traffic coming into the U.S. 
 
4.  The Ambassador then met with press from the area and sat 
down with members of a local binational citizens' group that has 
been promoting the new infrastructure.  Federal Member of 
Parliament Greg Thompson also attended.  Much of the discussion 
related to the cooperative efforts of local citizens to 
encourage state, provincial and federal governments to support a 
new bridge.  Thompson and several others also raised the 
proposed construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on 
Passamaquoddy Bay in Maine.  Thompson is on record as opposing 
the project, which would be supplied by tankers that would need 
to pass through Canadian waters to get to the plant. 
 
5.  From Calais the Ambassador headed to Campobello Island, NB, 
home of Roosevelt Campobello International Park, a unique 
U.S.-Canada joint venture that is funded equally by the two 
governments but administered by an independent board.  The 
Ambassador had the opportunity to meet the Park's Commissioners 
as well as a number of other prominent individuals, including 
Arthur Irving, CEO of Irving Oil and Chancellor of Acadia 
University in Nova Scotia.  The Ambassador spoke to the 
Commissioners to kick off their meeting the morning of July 30, 
and then returned to Fredericton by way of St. John, the 
province's largest city and one of its main economic centers. 
 
6.  RCMP "J" Division members provided excellent security 
coverage for the visit and arranged for helicopter 
transportation to Calais, Campobello and back to Fredericton. 
The helicopter saved several hours on the road and gave the 
Ambassador the opportunity to see a number of important parts of 
the New Brunswick economy -- miles and miles of forest, the 
port, Irving oil refinery and pulp mill in St. John and the 
Point Lepreau nuclear power plant -- that would otherwise have 
had to wait for a future trip. 
 
Nova Scotia 
------------- 
 
7.  The Ambassador, accompanied by Christy Cox of the Embassy 
and CG, toured the Halifax International Airport's preclearance 
facility construction zone on arrival at the airport August 8. 
New CEO Eleanor Humphries briefed him on HIA and its current 
expansion plans.  Construction of the preclearance area is 
progressing rapidly as the airport works to be ready for a late 
2006 start-up.  The construction manager reports good 
cooperation with CBP in Washington, but did note that the 
airport was seeking more specificity on several CBP 
requirements, including radiation detection and passenger data, 
that might be outside of the airport's authority to provide. 
 
8.  From the airport the Ambassador, Ms. Cox and CG headed 
northwest to the Fox Harb'r resort on the Northumberland Strait, 
site of the fifth annual networking gathering organized by Frank 
McKenna.  McKenna started the event when he was with the 
Atlantic Canadian law firm MacInnes Cooper and it now attracts a 
who's who of business and academic figures from the region and 
other parts of Canada.  At dinner the Ambassador and Ambassador 
McKenna delivered well-received keynote speeches on bilateral 
issues.  Overall, the event was an excellent introduction to a 
large and influential group of Canadians. 
 
9.  In addition to their speeches, the Ambassador and Frank 
McKenna participated in a conference call about Devil's Lake 
with reporters from across the country.  The Ambassador also had 
a private meeting with Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm.  Hamm 
expressed pleasure at the resumption of beef trade with the U.S. 
and added his voice to that of the other Atlantic Premiers 
regarding softwood lumber trade. 
 
10.  Returning to Halifax, the Ambassador had breakfast with 
senior management of the Halifax Port Authority.  Port security 
-- for both cargo and cruise ship passengers -- and expanding 
trade were key themes as the HPA executive team briefed the 
Ambassador on current developments at the port and then took him 
on a short boat tour to see operations from the water.  A brief 
session organized by provincial economic development agency Nova 
Scotia Business Inc introduced the Ambassador to a number of key 
corporate executives including AMCIT Ralph Tedesco, CEO of 
Emera, owner of both Nova Scotia Power and Bangor Hydroelectric 
in Maine. 
 
11.   The Ambassador formally presented to Halifax Mayor Peter 
Kelly and Councilor Linda Mosher a U.S. flag flown over the USS 
CONSTITUTION as a thank you to the citizens of Halifax who 
helped preserve from development a burial site where nearly 200 
American POWs from the War of 1812 are interred. 
 
12.  The Ambassador returned to the themes of security and trade 
at his luncheon speech to the AMCHAM Atlantic Chapter.  The 
newly-formed chapter has now hosted events featuring two 
Ambassadors and is getting a solid footing in the region.  New 
chairman Barry Horne laid out an ambitions plan to recruit 
members and hold meetings in all four Atlantic provinces. 
 
13.  Following his speech the Ambassador came to the Consulate, 
toured our offices and met with the staff.  He elaborated on his 
priorities for Mission Canada -- including seeking additional 
resources -- and took questions.  The final event on his 
schedule was an interview at ATV News, the most widely watched 
news show in the three Maritime Provinces.  Interviewer Steve 
Murphy didn't pull any punches and the Ambassador stayed 
"on-message," stressing the need to look forward, not backward, 
in the bilateral relationship. 
 
14.  COMMENT:  All in all two successful trips to Atlantic 
Canada.  The Ambassador has had the opportunity to meet quite a 
few people in the region and to get the USG's message out on a 
number of occasions.  Future themes for his visits will include 
military and law enforcement cooperation, joint efforts on the 
environment, offshore energy supplies and resident AMCITS.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
HILL