US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA2690

UNCLAS OTTAWA 002690 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
THE HAGUE FOR CWC DEL, ALSO FOR EMBASSY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PARM, PREL, CA 
SUBJECT: CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (CWC): URGING CANADA 
TO RECONSIDER ITS POSITION ON CAPTIVE USE OF SCHEDULE 1 
CHEMICALS 
 
REF: (A) AC/BC - EMBASSY E-MAILS (B) SECSTATE 158292 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  HANDLE ACCORDINGLY. 
 
1. (U) Following ref A exchanges, and modified guidance, 
polmiloff met on September 6 with Canadian National Authority 
Coordinator for the CWC, Bob Brooks, and Senior Advisor 
Adrian Ghita-Duminica, to discuss USG concerns regarding 
captive use of Schedule I chemicals.  Polmiloff left revised 
points as a non-paper. 
 
2. (SBU) Duminica, who had just returned from The Hague, said 
he was "very familiar" with the U.S. position.  He noted that 
some of the points made were overtaken by events.  The UK 
proposal cited in our demarche, for example, was being 
"rewritten."  Duminica reaffirmed the Canadian position 
described in refs, including his perception that a 
case-by-case approach to reviewing exemption requests a) 
could take a dozen years or longer and b) raises concerns 
about protecting business "confidentiality" (e.g. disclosure 
of r&d information by a pharmaceutical company to potential 
competitors), as well as the "legal issue" of how to grant an 
exemption without a technical change to the Convention. 
 
3. (SBU) Brooks and Duminica regretted the "impasse" over the 
Captive Use issue and mused that it might be useful to 
consult bilaterally in Washington prior to the next Executive 
Council Meeting (EC 42) at the end of September.  At such a 
time, they said, the U.S. and Canada might also discuss other 
issues, such as "schedule 2A/2A star low concentration 
limits." 
 
Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa 
 
WILKINS