US embassy cable - 03OTTAWA1304

UNCLAS OTTAWA 001304 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR IO/T (BLACKWOOD), WHA/CAN (RUNNING) 
 
HHS FOR OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, OFFICE OF 
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (STEIGER) 
 
GENEVA FOR HOHMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AORC, PREL, CA, WHO, Health 
SUBJECT: Framework Convention on Tobacco Control 
(FCTC): Canadian response to demarche 
 
Ref. SECSTATE 106632 
 
1. Health Canada's response concerning reftel demarche 
was unequivocal: Canada will not support deletion of 
FCTC Article 30 at the upcoming World Health Assembly 
(WHA).  In Canada's view, the text of the Convention is 
now in its final form and it is too late in the process 
to revisit the text and remove the reservations clause. 
End summary. 
 
2.  Health Canada's Director General of International 
Affairs, Ed Aiston, delivered an unequivocal message to 
ESTH Counselor and ESTH Specialist on the question of 
Canadian support for our proposal to delete article 30 
of the FCTC.  The Canadian position is: The text of the 
Convention is now final; Canada will not support 
opening of the text and deletion of Article 30. 
 
3.  Aiston remarked that delegates at the WHA are 
generally not those officials who negotiated the FCTC. 
As a consequence, opening the text and managing the 
consequences in this different milieu, is of concern to 
Canada.  Aiston noted in particular that the text 
contains a number of fragile compromises that Canada 
would not want to have reexamined and possibly 
subjected to change at the WHA.  Aiston also pointed 
out that Canada has concerns that removal of the 
reservations clause could allow some countries to 
dilute the impact of the FCTC.  (Aiston made clear to 
us that he would not put the United States in that 
group.)  Finally, the draft final text has already been 
submitted to the relevant ministers for their review. 
 
4.  The prior delivery of the demarche to officials at 
the Department of Foreign Affairs and International 
Trade (DFAIT) yielded a polite audience.  They 
indicated that generally the GoC was flexible on the 
issue of reservations.  But they made it clear that 
Health Canada is where the decision resides on the 
FCTC.  Ross Snyder, Deputy Director of UN Specialized 
Agencies Division, and Shelley Whiting, Deputy Director 
of the United Nations, Human Rights and Economic Law 
Division, received our demarche, but noted that they 
believe that the current draft final text contains 
references to constitutional limits in Article 13 that 
address USG concerns about infringement of 
Constitutionally-guaranteed rights.  They also noted 
their worry that our effort to revisit Article 30 could 
embolden Germany to once again raise its concerns with 
the advertising proscriptions of the FCTC. 
 
5.  Comment: Although Aiston delivered an unwelcome 
message from the GoC, he prefaced it with remarks that 
one of Canada's objectives had been to see the United 
States sign and ratify the FCTC.  Canada, he noted, had 
worked hard in the negotiations as a good faith partner 
and had made compromises to achieve results amenable to 
American participation.  Indeed, Aiston added, Canada 
had made its best efforts during the negotiations phase 
to get rid of the reservations clause.  That effort 
was, however, unsuccessful and Canada considers it is 
now too late to revisit the issue.  End comment. 
 
Cellucci