(C) CANADA SHARES CONCERNS ABOUT VENEZUELA ARMS

C O N F I D E N T I A L OTTAWA 003611 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/02/2014 TAGS: PARM MARR MASS CA VE SUBJECT: (C) CANADA SHARES CONCERNS ABOUT VENEZUELA ARMS TRANSFERS; TIGHTENS EXPORT LICENSE SCREENING PROCEDURES REF: STATE 207628 Classified By: POLITICAL M/C BRIAN FLORA. REASON 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) We delivered oral demarche points to Foreign Affairs Deputy Directors Christine Cadieux (Regional Security) and Harold Hickman (Andean Region),and National Defence Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs Col. Mike Hache, on November 18 and 21, respectively. FAC and DND officials acknowledged they were aware of USG concerns about arms transfers to Venezuela but did not envisage a way in which Canada could halt Spain's proposed sale of CN-235 and CN-295 aircraft to Venezuela. Hickman and Cadieux reiterated that Canada shared USG concerns about a Venezuelan arms build-up and undertook to discuss Canada's transfer policy within the government. ¶2. (C) On the margins of another meeting December 1, Cadieux informed polmiloff that her division had consulted with other government offices, including the Export Controls branch (EPE) of Foreign Affairs. She said that the volume of licensed exports to Venezuela from Canada was small and there were no pending export license requests at this time. Cadieux nonetheless was pleased that EPE had agreed to add to its standard screening procedure for all Venezuela-destined exports subject to licensing a review by the Regional Security division. Rather than issue a categorical ban on certain exports to Venezuela, Cadieux said, the GOC would be taking a case-by-case approach. Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa WILKINS