CANADA: POSSIBLE SUPPORT FOR US COUNTER-NARCOTICS

UNCLAS OTTAWA 003368 SIPDIS INL FOR CARROLL, COAST GUARD FOR KEISERMAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR MARR CA SUBJECT: CANADA: POSSIBLE SUPPORT FOR US COUNTER-NARCOTICS AIR RECONNAISSANCE IN THE CARIBBEAN REF: STATE 262028 ¶1. Unclassified entire text. ¶2. Post delivered request for Canadian maritime patrol aircraft assistance to Foreign Affairs Canada on December 10 as per reftel. Deputy Director for Regional Security and Peacekeeping, Foreign Affairs Canada, Sarah Fountain-Smith responded on December 15 that the GoC was not yet in a position to respond, but will continue to explore the possibility of future cooperation. She noted that her counterparts in the Department of National Defense had been told that Canadian military units quote can't take on anything new unquote, but ventured that by considering this US request for air reconnaissance assistance in terms of North American Security, there might be some flexibility down the line. She noted that no decision would likely be made before the middle of January at the earliest. ¶3. Comment: Given the state of Canada's current CP 140 inventory (there are 17 aircraft in total and all of them are either in Canada's deployed operational squadrons or their one replacement squadron),Post suspects Canada may not have the capability in the short term to respond positively to the US request. However, Canadian law enforcement officials informally told Post today that Colombian drug traffickers and money launderers in Canada are about to be designated national law enforcement intelligence targets. Once this happens and it is made public, it may be easier for the Canadian Government to link the effectiveness of fighting Colombian drug runners and their surrogates in Canada with participating in maritime patrol aircraft deployments in the Caribbean. Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa CELLUCCI