CANADIAN RESPONSE -- APPEAL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS FOR

UNCLAS OTTAWA 002208 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE USAID FOR DCHA AND LAC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: HA EAID ECON EFIN CA SUBJECT: CANADIAN RESPONSE -- APPEAL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS FOR HAITI INTERIM COOPERATION FRAMEWORK EXTENSION REF: STATE 116137 ¶1. Ginette Martin, Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT)'s Haiti Division, informed Embassy Ottawa on July 21 that the Government of Canada will pledge C$520 million (roughly US$460 million at today's exchange rate) over five years for development assistance in Canada. The Canadian delegation to the July 25 donor's conference will be led by Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) President Robert Greenhill; Minister of International Cooperation Josee Verner will not be able to attend. The delegation will include officials from CIDA, DFAIT, and Canada's Embassy in Haiti. ¶2. Ms. Martin said that the GOC shares the USG's concerns and agrees that now is an important window of opportunity for Haiti. The five year total pledge of C$520 million represents a significant increase over Canada's past donations of roughly C$20 million per year and is also an increase over the GOC's July 2004 pledge of C$180 million over two years (made at the Washington donors conference). ¶3. The C$520 million pledge over five years will be concentrated in the four priority areas under the Interim Cooperation Framework (ICF),but will not be strictly tied to the ICF, in light of its future winding down. Ms. Martin described the GOC's specific focus for this pledge as including economic governance, security and justice, local development, electricity generation and basic services. The C$520 million sum includes CIDA funding as well as C$15 million from DFAIT's Global Peace and Security Fund and C$15 million from the RCMP's International Police fund (note: The C$15 million from the RCMP will include funding to support 100 Canadian police officers in Haiti.) Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa WILKINS