PREMIERS BANFF MEETING, AUG. 10-12

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 QUEBEC 000135

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 8/8/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON CA
SUBJECT: PREMIERS BANFF MEETING, AUG. 10-12


CLASSIFIED BY: Abigail Friedman, Consul General, Quebec City,
State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



CLASSIFIED BY: Abigail Friedman, Consul General, Quebec City,
State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)





1. (C) Summary: The Council of the Federation, a
provincial/territorial forum initiated by Quebec Premier Charest
in 2003, will hold its first meeting of 2005, in Banff, August
10-12. Initially greeted with skepticism, the Council proved
its worth last fall when it succeeded in hammering out an
eventual deal with the GOC on health care funds transfers. At
Banff, Canadian Premiers will turn their attention to the
federal transfer of funds for post-secondary education. In a
meeting with CG Aug. 4, Quebec Minister for Intergovernmental
Affairs Benoit Pelletier welcomed the Ambassador's plan to
attend the Banff meeting, as it would underscored the growing
importance of the Council as an institution that advances
Canadian unity. Of all of Canada's Premiers, Charest has the
greatest stake in the Council's success, not simply because he
created it but because it is the Liberal Party of Quebec's (PLQ)
answer to Quebec sovereigntists who argue that Quebec can never
get a fair deal working within the Canadian confederation. End
summary.


2. (U) CG met with Quebec Minister Benoit Pelletier Aug. 4, to
review the agenda and GOQ expectations for the coming Council of
the Federation meeting in Banff, Alberta. Pelletier, a
constitutional lawyer, took the lead back in 2001 in developing
the Council, as chair of the PLQ group under Charest that
proposed its creation. Since then, he has been Charest's
right-hand man in managing Quebec's relations with the other
provinces and with the federal government.

Education
--------------


3. (C) Pelletier said the main agenda item at Banff would be
federal financing of post-secondary school education. (Comment:
This matter is important to all Canadian Premiers but has added
resonance for Quebec given widespread student demonstrations
here this past spring over cuts in post-secondary school student
grants. End comment.) Pelletier said the Premiers want to get
the federal government to return to the percentage of federal
funding allotted in 1994-95, the last year before the GOC
instituted sharp cuts in the education transfer to fix federal
budget woes. Pelletier said the Premiers want a transfer a
total for all the provinces of 2.2 billion Canadian per year. A
"second stage" request would be for the GOC to cover the rise in
education costs. Pelletier said that, unlike with the health
fund transfer, Quebec is not seeking special consideration
("asymmetric federalism"),given that the GOC is not expected to
attach conditions to the transfer, as it did on health care. If
the GOC did start tacking on conditions, mused Pelletier, the
GOQ would of course challenge that.

International Relations
--------------


4. (C) Pelletier did not believe the Council would discuss one
of Quebec's key goals: that of advancing the provinces' role in
international affairs on matters of provincial concern.
Pelletier indicated that this issue is not one that garners much
support among the Premiers and for this reason, it was best not
to bring it up at the Council at this stage. (Note: A GOQ
brochure on the Council states, under the heading "The
Challenges of Globalization," that the provinces "must play a
greater role on the international stage by participating in the
negotiation of agreements related to their jurisdictions,
without threatening the cohesiveness of Canada's foreign
policy." End note.)


5. (SBU) Pelletier praised the Ambassador's coming participation
in the Council's Banff meeting. He characterized U.S.
involvement as consistent with the growing appreciation of the
forum by the Canadian federal government, as an institution that
strengthens Canadian unity. Other groups, such as Canada's
First Nations, also would like to be members of the Council,
according to Pelletier. But, he continued, while the Council
recognizes the importance of working issues out with the First
Nations, the consensus is that it is best not to expand the
Council to include First Nations. The compromise: The Council
will not technically meet with First Nations representatives at
Banff but in Calgary on Aug. 9, immediately prior to the Council
meetings.

Other Issues
--------------


6. (U) In addition to the education issue on the agenda,
Pelletier said the Premiers would discuss:
-- streamlining Canada's labor market (i.e., ways in which to
expand the free circulation of workers);
-- relations with the U.S. (Pelletier did not have anything more
specific to offer on this); and
-- strengthening the Council's secretariat in Ottawa.
Media Upbeat about Council
--------------

7. (U) After an inauspicious start, the Council seems to be
gathering in stature. Early media spin on the Council was "new
bottle, old whine (sic)" (Montreal Gazette August, 2004). The
Gazette viewed the Council as the usual, "premiers snipping at
the absent feds while pleading for more money from them." That
perception changed over the following months, as the Premiers
scored a success in arriving at a common position on the
transfer of health care funds. By mid-September 2004, the Globe
and Mail was reporting on the new Council's "success" "which has
strengthened provincial solidarity." "The Council of the
Federation, as a coordinating point for effective policy impact,
appears very much to be working." (Globe and Mail, Sept. 14 &
15, 2004.)

Comment
--------------


8. (C) Of all the Premiers, Charest has the most at stake in
the success of the Council. Having a tough time these days in
connecting with Quebec voters, Charest cannot count on the
"charisma" factor to win Quebeckers over to the federalist
cause. To overcome Quebec's many Canada-skeptics, Charest needs
to be able to point to concrete wins and to institutions that
are seen to be working for Quebec. Most federal structures --
from the constitution, adopted over Quebec's objections, to the
Parliament where only the separatist Bloc represents Quebec --
are not presently helping the federalist cause in Quebec. The
Council of the Federation at this stage is contributing to
Canadian unity and, as such, is a forum we should welcome.



FRIEDMAN