US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA2951

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 002951 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CAN (HOLST/NELSON), INR (SALCEDO) AND OES/EGC 
(REIFSNYDER) 
 
USDOC FOR 4310/MAC/ONA 
 
DOE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (PUMPHREY AND DEUTSCH) 
 
NOAA FOR WARE-HARRIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, ENRG, PGOV, CA 
SUBJECT:  CHANGES AT CANADA'S NATURAL RESOURCES MINISTRY: 
       CAN THEY STOP THE LOSS OF CABINET CLOUT? 
 
 
1. (U) Sensitive, but unclassified.  Not for distribution 
outside USG channels. 
 
2. (U) Pending a cabinet shuffle or an election, GOC 
Revenue Minister John McCallum now simultaneously 
carries the GOC's Natural Resources portfolio, as John 
Efford has left Cabinet due to ill health.  Meanwhile, 
the new Deputy Minister of Natural Resources is Richard 
Fadden, replacing George Anderson.  Biographical notes 
on Minister McCallum and Deputy Minister Fadden follow 
in paragraphs 7-8. 
 
3. (SBU) Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is the federal 
energy ministry for the United States' largest energy 
supplier.  The Natural Resources department (which also 
has responsibility for forests and mining) is home to a 
much of the GOC's energy research and development 
capacity, including the CANMET Energy Technology Centre. 
 
4. (SBU) NRCan has been in competition with Environment 
Canada (EC) (and to a much lesser extent with Industry 
Canada) for control of climate change policy within the 
GOC, particularly as Canada prepares to host the COP-11 
meetings in Montreal in November.  Traditionally, NRCan 
was the stronger department and the more senior 
portfolio.  However, former Minister John Efford has 
been increasingly ill and absent from Ottawa, and since 
Anderson left the Deputy's job in May 2005, NRCan was 
virtually rudderless.  Meanwhile, over the past year 
under the assertive ministry of Stephane Dion (and his 
Deputy, Samy Watson), Environment Canada has effectively 
seized the lead on climate change.  Indeed, Dion and 
Watson were seen by some as "taking advantage" of the 
drifting situation at NRCan and plotting to acquire 
various NRCan functions, with a view to building the 
Environment ministry into a senior economic policymaking 
role. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
5. (SBU) The Prime Minister's decision to put NRCan 
under Revenue Minister McCallum's wing defers the need 
to orchestrate a more extensive Cabinet shuffle. 
However, senior NRCan insiders are not reassured.  Now, 
in addition to fending off "predatory" moves by EC, they 
say they must protect their turf against encroachment 
from McCallum's staff, who are not overly busy at Canada 
Revenue Agency and "now have a new place to land and 
meddle." 
 
6. (SBU) At this time, we do not foresee that these 
difficulties at NRCan will have an impact on U.S. 
interests.  NRCan will likely obtain a full-time 
minister within a few months, whether due to an election 
or a cabinet shuffle.  Key energy files which will 
eventually require NRCan decisions - such as the Alaska 
and Mackenzie natural gas pipeline projects - are not 
yet urgent and can be managed to some extent through the 
Cabinet energy policy committee (whose Chair, Deputy 
Prime Minister Anne McLellan, is a former NRCan 
minister).  The main international consequence of 
NRCan's leadership hiatus will be to give Environment 
Minister Stephane Dion a more secure lead on climate 
change policy in the run-up to COP-11. 
 
REVENUE / NATURAL RESOURCES MINISTER JOHN MCCALLUM 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
7. (U) John McCallum has served as Minister of National 
Defence and as Parliamentary Secretary for International 
Financial Institutions.  He has been Minister of Revenue 
since July 2004.  Before entering politics in 2000, he 
was senior vice-president and chief economist of the 
Royal Bank of Canada, the country's largest financial 
institution.  A native of Montreal, he was educated in 
Britain, France and Canada. 
 
 
DEPUTY NATURAL RESOURCES MINISTER RICHARD FADDEN 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
8. (U) Richard Fadden was President of the Canadian Food 
Inspection Agency from 2002 until 2005.  Previously, he 
served as Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council (a formal 
term for the federal Cabinet), where he had additional 
duties as Security and Intelligence Coordinator.  He is 
a career public servant and a lawyer. 
 
WILKINS