US embassy cable - 05OTTAWA3519

UNCLAS OTTAWA 003519 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/TPP/BTA, EB/TPP/BTA/EWH AND EB/TPP/MTA 
 
WHA/CAN - BREESE AND HOLST AND E - U/S SHINER 
 
STATE PLEASE ALSO PASS TO USDA 
 
DEPT PASS USTR FOR MELLE AND CHANDLER 
 
USDOC FOR 4322/ITA/MAC/WH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, ETRD, EAGR, CA, WTRO, Softwood lumber, Agriculture 
SUBJECT: CANADIAN FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL TRADE MINISTERS 
COMMENT ON DOHA TRADE ROUND, AGRICULTURE, SOFTWOOD LUMBER 
 
REF:  STATE 211956 
 
1.   Canadian International Trade Minister Jim Peterson and 
several provincial counterparts (including those 
representing Canada's four most populous provinces) met in 
Ottawa on November 22 and spoke to reporters afterward. 
Peterson stressed the GOC's continued hope for an "ambitious 
outcome" from the Hong Kong ministerial. 
 
2.   Asked if Canada were prepared to make concessions to 
balance those demanded from the United States and the 
European Union, Peterson and his Quebec and Ontario 
counterparts reaffirmed their commitment to Canada's "supply 
management" arrangements in the dairy and poultry sectors. 
Peterson said Canada "can accommodate our sensitive 
industries because all countries have them."  Such 
industries are in a special category so that protecting them 
"does not preclude ambitious cuts in other areas," allowing 
governments to succeed "both politically and economically." 
Ontario Minister Joe Cordiano added that "there is no reason 
to give up supply management and we won't."  Quebec Minister 
Claude Richard said that supply management represents 40% of 
his province's agricultural sector and must be defended. 
 
3. Given the GOC's current week-to-week struggle to survive 
votes in Parliament, Peterson used this occasion to attack 
the federal opposition parties' efforts to determine the 
timing of the federal election, now expected in January.  In 
prepared remarks, he said that "current political 
instability at home will not impede our ability to be heard 
in Hong Kong, but it will affect how the world sees us." 
Under questioning, Peterson noted that even if the 
government were defeated in Parliament prior to the Hong 
Kong Ministerial, he himself would still carry Ministerial 
authority until replaced.  However, he asked rhetorically, 
"How can we speak with the same credibility if we have been 
defeated on a no-confidence motion?  Have the Opposition 
parties thought about the consequences for our position at 
the WTO?" 
 
4. On softwood lumber, Peterson and his colleagues repeated 
the mantra that the United States must respect its 
international trade commitments.  BC Minister Colin Hanson 
emphasized that on this and other issues, Canadians must 
stand together regardless of party or province.  Asked what 
the GOC's options would be in coming days if the U.S. does 
not cease collecting duties, Peterson said that he expected 
a de minimis ruling by the U.S. Department of Commerce, and 
that the GOC's existing 4-part campaign (litigation, 
retaliation, advocacy and alternative markets) remains in 
effect.  Peterson and Hanson both stressed that efforts to 
seek new markets are in addition to, not instead of, 
traditional markets. 
 
WILKINS