US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA3445

UNCLAS OTTAWA 003445 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR WHA/CAN AND EB/TRA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELTN, EWWT, EAIR, ASEC, CA 
SUBJECT: SPP LEADS TO REVIVAL OF MORIBUND BORDER 
TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE 
 
 
1.  (U) Officials of Transport Canada (TC) and the Department 
of Transportation (DOT) met November 15-16, 2005, in Ottawa 
to revitalize the Emergency Preparedness Committee on Civil 
Transportation (EPCCT), a group which held its last meeting 
in September 2002.  This initial meeting after a long hiatus 
was convened in response to TC and DOT involvement in the 
Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and instructions 
from TC and DOT principals to address the deliverables 
identified in Goal 9 of the SPP security agenda relating to 
transportation.  EPCCT members agreed to meet again in five 
months. 
 
2.  (U) Participants in the November 15-16 meeting included 
principals from DOT headquarters emergency operations offices 
(including those of the Federal Aviation Administration and 
the Federal Highway Administration) as well as regional 
emergency transportation representatives.  The TC delegation, 
which was double the size of the USDEL, included TC 
headquarters officers responsible for emergency preparedness 
as well safety and security for all modes of transportation. 
 
 
3.  (U) The immediate goal of this EPCCT meeting was to 
complete SPP security deliverable 9.2.8:  to establish a 
working group dealing with responses to incidents affecting 
the transportation sector.  That goal was largely 
accomplished by reestablishing the EPCCT and bringing 
together the TC and DOT transportation sector experts who met 
last week.  The group noted, however, that membership on the 
EPCCT will require expansion in order to fulfill the SPP 
mandate.  Specifically, the EPCCT intends to ask the 
following agencies to attend its future meetings:  Public 
Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC); Canada 
Border Services Agency (CBSA); the Transportation Security 
Administration (TSA); the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA); and both Coast Guards.  TC said that it also intends 
to enlist participants from its regional offices.  The next 
meeting of the EPCCT will take place in April 2006 in the 
United States at a venue yet to be determined. 
 
4.  (U) The EPCCT also agreed upon terms of reference for the 
committee and looked at opportunities for ways to develop 
binational emergency transportation preparedness and 
response.  The committee recognized a need to reestablish 
comprehensive communications between the regions and 
headquarters, and to work more closely with provincial and 
state governments.  A need was also noted for more joint 
training and exercises (full scenarios as well as table-tops) 
to create the linkages necessary for local and national 
authorities to react to emergencies. 
 
5.  (U) Comment:  The EPCCT group that met in Ottawa was 
enthusiastic and eager about its role in addressing SPP 
security agenda objectives.  The re-establishment of the 
EPCCT will likely go a long way to strengthen the 
U.S.-Canadian capability to adequately respond to incidents 
affecting the transportation sector.  The involvement of 
regional as well as headquarters players seems to be a good 
one that should further enhance our binational emergency 
response capability. 
 
Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa 
 
DICKSON