AMBASSADOR'S INITIAL VISITS TO ATLANTIC CANADA STRESS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HALIFAX 000176

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ETRD ELTN ASEC CA US
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S INITIAL VISITS TO ATLANTIC CANADA STRESS
SECURITY AND TRADE


1. SUMMARY: Ambassador Wilkins made two successful trips in
rapid succession to Atlantic Canada as part of his orientation
to the country. His visits to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
focused on priority issues of security, border infrastructure
and trade.
END SUMMARY.

New Brunswick
--------------


2. The Ambassador made a short but productive visit to New
Brunswick and Maine July 29 - 30. Premier Bernard Lord hosted a
lunch for the Ambassador, the Consul General and Lord's Chief of
Staff. While primarily an opportunity for the Ambassador to get
to know the Premier, a number of issues of substance were
discussed. In particular, Lord stressed the market-based mature
of the Atlantic softwood lumber industry and the desire of
Atlantic producers to be recognized as not receiving government
subsidies. Among other issues we raised the case of a U.S. firm
that had been having difficulty receiving information on a
provincial telemedicine project. (Note: Within days of the
lunch the firm was contacted by the NB government to discuss the
project. End note.)


3. At the Calais, ME - St. Stephen, NB, border crossing the
Ambassador received briefings from CBP Port Director David
Lumbert and Maine's Commissioner of Transportation David Cole
about the state of the crossing and plans to improve it with a
new bridge and inspection area. Calais - St. Stephen is the 8th
busiest border crossing and one of the main truck routes between
Atlantic Canada and the U.S. A significant part of the cargo
crossing the border -- which consists on the U.S. side of a
two-lane bridge, a small inspection area and a 70-year old
office building -- is highly perishable fresh seafood. Lumbert
demonstrated the operation of the port's VACIS machine which
scans all truck traffic coming into the U.S.


4. The Ambassador then met with press from the area and sat
down with members of a local binational citizens' group that has
been promoting the new infrastructure. Federal Member of
Parliament Greg Thompson also attended. Much of the discussion
related to the cooperative efforts of local citizens to
encourage state, provincial and federal governments to support a
new bridge. Thompson and several others also raised the
proposed construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on
Passamaquoddy Bay in Maine. Thompson is on record as opposing
the project, which would be supplied by tankers that would need
to pass through Canadian waters to get to the plant.


5. From Calais the Ambassador headed to Campobello Island, NB,
home of Roosevelt Campobello International Park, a unique
U.S.-Canada joint venture that is funded equally by the two
governments but administered by an independent board. The
Ambassador had the opportunity to meet the Park's Commissioners
as well as a number of other prominent individuals, including
Arthur Irving, CEO of Irving Oil and Chancellor of Acadia
University in Nova Scotia. The Ambassador spoke to the
Commissioners to kick off their meeting the morning of July 30,
and then returned to Fredericton by way of St. John, the
province's largest city and one of its main economic centers.


6. RCMP "J" Division members provided excellent security
coverage for the visit and arranged for helicopter
transportation to Calais, Campobello and back to Fredericton.
The helicopter saved several hours on the road and gave the
Ambassador the opportunity to see a number of important parts of
the New Brunswick economy -- miles and miles of forest, the
port, Irving oil refinery and pulp mill in St. John and the
Point Lepreau nuclear power plant -- that would otherwise have
had to wait for a future trip.

Nova Scotia
--------------


7. The Ambassador, accompanied by Christy Cox of the Embassy
and CG, toured the Halifax International Airport's preclearance
facility construction zone on arrival at the airport August 8.
New CEO Eleanor Humphries briefed him on HIA and its current
expansion plans. Construction of the preclearance area is
progressing rapidly as the airport works to be ready for a late
2006 start-up. The construction manager reports good
cooperation with CBP in Washington, but did note that the
airport was seeking more specificity on several CBP
requirements, including radiation detection and passenger data,
that might be outside of the airport's authority to provide.


8. From the airport the Ambassador, Ms. Cox and CG headed
northwest to the Fox Harb'r resort on the Northumberland Strait,
site of the fifth annual networking gathering organized by Frank
McKenna. McKenna started the event when he was with the
Atlantic Canadian law firm MacInnes Cooper and it now attracts a
who's who of business and academic figures from the region and
other parts of Canada. At dinner the Ambassador and Ambassador
McKenna delivered well-received keynote speeches on bilateral
issues. Overall, the event was an excellent introduction to a
large and influential group of Canadians.


9. In addition to their speeches, the Ambassador and Frank
McKenna participated in a conference call about Devil's Lake
with reporters from across the country. The Ambassador also had
a private meeting with Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm. Hamm
expressed pleasure at the resumption of beef trade with the U.S.
and added his voice to that of the other Atlantic Premiers
regarding softwood lumber trade.


10. Returning to Halifax, the Ambassador had breakfast with
senior management of the Halifax Port Authority. Port security
-- for both cargo and cruise ship passengers -- and expanding
trade were key themes as the HPA executive team briefed the
Ambassador on current developments at the port and then took him
on a short boat tour to see operations from the water. A brief
session organized by provincial economic development agency Nova
Scotia Business Inc introduced the Ambassador to a number of key
corporate executives including AMCIT Ralph Tedesco, CEO of
Emera, owner of both Nova Scotia Power and Bangor Hydroelectric
in Maine.


11. The Ambassador formally presented to Halifax Mayor Peter
Kelly and Councilor Linda Mosher a U.S. flag flown over the USS
CONSTITUTION as a thank you to the citizens of Halifax who
helped preserve from development a burial site where nearly 200
American POWs from the War of 1812 are interred.


12. The Ambassador returned to the themes of security and trade
at his luncheon speech to the AMCHAM Atlantic Chapter. The
newly-formed chapter has now hosted events featuring two
Ambassadors and is getting a solid footing in the region. New
chairman Barry Horne laid out an ambitions plan to recruit
members and hold meetings in all four Atlantic provinces.


13. Following his speech the Ambassador came to the Consulate,
toured our offices and met with the staff. He elaborated on his
priorities for Mission Canada -- including seeking additional
resources -- and took questions. The final event on his
schedule was an interview at ATV News, the most widely watched
news show in the three Maritime Provinces. Interviewer Steve
Murphy didn't pull any punches and the Ambassador stayed
"on-message," stressing the need to look forward, not backward,
in the bilateral relationship.


14. COMMENT: All in all two successful trips to Atlantic
Canada. The Ambassador has had the opportunity to meet quite a
few people in the region and to get the USG's message out on a
number of occasions. Future themes for his visits will include
military and law enforcement cooperation, joint efforts on the
environment, offshore energy supplies and resident AMCITS. END
COMMENT.

HILL