CANADA: RESPONSE TO DEMARCHES ON ILO ELECTIONS AND

UNCLAS OTTAWA 001604 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL AORC ELAB CA ILO SUBJECT: CANADA: RESPONSE TO DEMARCHES ON ILO ELECTIONS AND BUDGET REF: A. STATE 094818 ¶B. STATE 094764 ¶1. (U) Poloff discussed refs (a) (Cuban candidacy for the ILO Governing Body) and (b) (ILO's proposed budget for 2006-2007) with Wendy Drukier, Senior Policy Advisor at Foreign Affairs Canada (FAC),on May 24. Drukier thanked us for the points, and requested some time so that she could pass the demarche to her colleagues in Geneva for their review. ¶2. (SBU) In a follow-up conversation with poloff on May 26, Drukier provided feedback on both demarches. Concerning ref (a) and the possible candidacy of Cuba to the ILO Governing Body, Drukier stated that the Government of Canada (GoC) fully supports the candidacy of Barbados, agreeing with the USG that Barbados has a much better record of cooperation with the ILO than does Cuba. She expressed hope that Cuba would not press its candidacy beyond the Americas Group, but that if it did make a direct bid to the ILO Government electoral college, Canada was prepared to support Barbados, and would urge other countries to do likewise. ¶3. (SBU) Regarding ref (b) and the proposed ILO budget for 2006-2007, Drukier stated that while FAC agrees with the USG on the need for fiscal restraint at the ILO, the GoC is nonetheless concerned that it may be counterproductive to press the issue too strongly (i.e. funding for the ILO would actually increase, rather than decrease). Drukier indicated that FAC's representatives in Geneva were discussing this with USG reps, and that according to Drukier, the USG is also backing off somewhat from our previous stance. Drukier also stated that the GoC feels somewhat constrained to press too hard on this issue, since Canada is also a candidate for the ILO Governing Body. Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa DICKSON