CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (CWC): URGING CANADA

UNCLAS OTTAWA 002690 SIPDIS SENSITIVE THE HAGUE FOR CWC DEL, ALSO FOR EMBASSY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM PREL CA SUBJECT: CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION (CWC): URGING CANADA TO RECONSIDER ITS POSITION ON CAPTIVE USE OF SCHEDULE 1 CHEMICALS REF: (A) AC/BC - EMBASSY E-MAILS (B) SECSTATE 158292 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. HANDLE ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (U) Following ref A exchanges, and modified guidance, polmiloff met on September 6 with Canadian National Authority Coordinator for the CWC, Bob Brooks, and Senior Advisor Adrian Ghita-Duminica, to discuss USG concerns regarding captive use of Schedule I chemicals. Polmiloff left revised points as a non-paper. ¶2. (SBU) Duminica, who had just returned from The Hague, said he was "very familiar" with the U.S. position. He noted that some of the points made were overtaken by events. The UK proposal cited in our demarche, for example, was being "rewritten." Duminica reaffirmed the Canadian position described in refs, including his perception that a case-by-case approach to reviewing exemption requests a) could take a dozen years or longer and b) raises concerns about protecting business "confidentiality" (e.g. disclosure of r&d information by a pharmaceutical company to potential competitors),as well as the "legal issue" of how to grant an exemption without a technical change to the Convention. ¶3. (SBU) Brooks and Duminica regretted the "impasse" over the Captive Use issue and mused that it might be useful to consult bilaterally in Washington prior to the next Executive Council Meeting (EC 42) at the end of September. At such a time, they said, the U.S. and Canada might also discuss other issues, such as "schedule 2A/2A star low concentration limits." Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa WILKINS