CANADA GIVES POSITIVE SOUNDINGS ON GREAT LAKES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 002344

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR INL, WHA/CAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM PREL EWWT PBTS CA MOPS
SUBJECT: CANADA GIVES POSITIVE SOUNDINGS ON GREAT LAKES
SHIPRIDER


1. (SBU) Summary: After meeting with a U.S. Shiprider team
on July 28 and offering positive soundings on a way to move
forward on the two-week proof of concept phase of the
program, GOC lawyers and operators met August 2 and agreed to
continue joint planning for a possible program in
September-October. The GOC still needs a firm decision at
the ADM level, which is expected in the next two weeks, but
meanwhile, GOC lawyers are reviewing our draft dipnote and
RCMP operators are making preparations for the required
training. If all goes well we could see boats in the water
in late September or early October. This is an excellent
example of U.S. interagency cooperation and if successful,
could break ground for enhanced cooperation with Canada in
other areas. End Summary.


2. (SBU) On July 28, 2005, DHS operators and attorneys met in
Ottawa with Canadian counterparts for consultations on the
Great Lakes Shiprider proof of concept. The shiprider
concept would allow for the provisional formation of joint
units of American Coast Guard and RCMP officers on each
country's vessels to provide for enhanced law enforcement
capabilities in the difficult to delineate Great Lakes border
area and other boundary waters. GOC officials have been
interested in the program for several years, but have not
been able to get beyond the political fear over sovereignty
or a prospective incident involving a high profile arrest or
shooting of a Canadian citizen by an American officer.
Deputy Prime Minister McLellan and Justice Minister Cotler
have expressed support for the program and directed their
staffs to move it forward.


3. (SBU) The legal meeting was led on the U.S. side by LCDR
Brad Kieserman (USCG Office of Maritime and International
Law) and included Ayman Rizkalla (ICE Principal Legal
Advisor's Office) and Embassy Poloff. Lawyers on the
Canadian side represented Justice, Customs, DFAIT, PSEP-C,
Trade, Immigration, Firearms Center, Fisheries and Oceans,
and Foreign Affairs. Lead Canadian negotiator Michael
Zigayer (Senior Counsel, Department of Justice) said that the
shiprider issue was a high priority for Canada after the
recent Halifax meeting and this meeting was intended to
explore what mechanisms exist in Canadian law to give U.S.
officers status in Canada as peace officers. The two sides
then walked through a series of issues to be resolved, in all
cases focusing only on requirements for the 2-week pilot
project:

-- Designation of Officers: The U.S. officers would
receive a special title -- e.g. Supernumerary Special
Constable -- which would confer authority as peace officers.
They would have the same enforcement authority as the RCMP,
with the same protections and exemptions. Also, they would
have the same prohibitions in terms of weapons -- no pepper
spray, large magazines for weapons, automatic weapons, etc.
The Canadian side thought this was a manageable issue.

-- Reporting Requirements: There will be a need for the
U.S. officers to check in with Canadian Customs every time
they begin a shift and to check out when they finish. The
team thought there could be a 24-hour call center to manage
this.

-- Citizenship: The issue of work permits was raised. It
could be handled by either giving the U.S. officers work
permits, based on the fact that they would not be taking jobs
away from Canadians, or simply ignoring the issue because
their duties do not constitute "work" in a traditional
framework. They will recommend the latter.

-- Communication and Info-Sharing: The Arar inquiry is
the context. The Arar final report and recommendations will
not be out by the time we put boats in the water this year so
the current climate is what is important, although it could
change before we arrive at a permanent program. Within the
current climate there were not any show-stoppers, just a good
deal of reticence on information sharing in general.

-- Import-Export Laws: This was the only area where there
was not a clear way forward. The issue is that to bring
firearms into the country requires a permit and there are
"nasty penalties" for not complying. The Canadian side
suggested three options: 1) presume no export or import,
essentially ignoring the law as being ambiguous in the case
of law enforcement officers, 2) issue permits, 3) assume risk
that no one notices. The sense we got was that they would
recommend some variant of option one. One key concern was
that it could affect the prosecution of a case if a boat was
intercepted on the waters and the defense argued that there
was something amiss in how it was taken down (e.g. U.S.
officials carrying arms illegally). The bottom line was that
even if certain cases were lost in court, the goods would be
off the street (or off the water),and public fallout would
be minimal. There may be a need for legislation in the
future but not in time for the trial concept.

-- Criminal and Civil Liability: Since cross-designation
gives U.S. officers the same status as their Canadian
counterparts this was not deemed to be a problem.


4. (SBU) The U.S. side then discussed how we have worked
around all similar issues on our side, to include training
and certification, marking of vessels, weapons of RCMP
officers on board US vessels, information sharing, reporting,
and arrest authority (to include what happens when we pick up
migrants).


5. (SBU) In a parallel meeting between operators of the US
Coast Guard and RCMP, the following issues were discussed:

-- The two sides reviewed training options, which would
start with basic boat familiarization and survival training
on August 15 regardless of whether the concept has been
approved. After approval there will be a requirement for an
additional 30 days of training. Hull Island for boat
training and Detroit Winsor for classroom training were
agreed as the best venues.
-- There will be 4 boats maximum (2 U.S. and 2 Canadian)
involved in the program.
-- The crews will be 4 American and 1 Canadian on the U.S.
boats, and 2 RCMP and 1 American on the Canadian vessels.
Both will use a blue light for identification.
-- There was some reticence on the part of some of the
Canadian officials with regards to a media layout. Some
thought it could be a positive tie-in with the SPP, others
thought it would be best to keep it quiet given the political
sensitivities.


6. (SBU) Timing/Decision: The Canadian team said it would
continue its internal discussions on August 2, and if
approved in a directors level interagency meeting, would move
the concept to the ADM level for approval. The August 2
meeting was held as planned and the recommendation was made
to move the concept forward, which DFAIT lawyers say should
take place in the next two weeks. Planners have been in
contact with regards to training, and lawyers have begun to
compare notes on the draft dipnote language. There will also
be an MOU that DHS/ICE will need from the RCMP laying out the
details for RCMP officers on US vessels, and the Canadians
will also have a similar MOU for us. If all goes as planned,
the first boats could be in the water in late September.


7. (SBU) Comment: This process has been a tremendous example
of U.S. inter-agency cooperation that could well translate
into future successes. We also hope that a shiprider
protocol may serve as a stepping-stone to more routine U.S.
and Canadian law enforcement joint operations along our
contiguous land and sea frontier. For instance, we would
welcome the expansion of the already successful IBET program
to include joint (vs. the current parallel) patrols, and the
addition of overflight and landing provisions for IBET air
components.

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