MISSION CANADA 2ND QUARTER FY-06 90-DAY GOALS--

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 OTTAWA 000093

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

STATE FOR WHA
CALGARY PLEASE PASS WINNIPEG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/12/2016
TAGS: AMGT CA CASC ETRD PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: MISSION CANADA 2ND QUARTER FY-06 90-DAY GOALS--
ENGAGING THE NEW GOVERNMENT


Classified By: Classified by Ambassador Wilkins for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary - Much of our attention over the next 90 days
will have to do with the January 23 election in Canada and
the formation of the next government. Most political
observers currently predict, with just ten days left before
the election, a Conservative minority government, but even if
the Liberal party were returned to power, we expect Cabinet
changes and a fresh opportunity to carve out new ground in
our overall goal of encouraging real partnership with Canada.
We will push for visits, meetings and calls during this
first quarter to hammer home our themes. If there is a
leadership change, the sooner the better, to maximize our
impact, although the return of Conservative Government after
twelve years on the outside will likely result in a
complicated transaction adjustment.


2. (C) A limited, specific agenda laid out with the new
government early on will give us a recognizable mantra on how
to get our relationship back on track after the political
distractions of the last four months.

--Canada as a partner in global transformation
--Closing the legal gaps in border law enforcement
cooperation (i.e., shiprider)
--Pushing aggressively to finalize priority SPP initiatives
at the border to facilitate legitimate crossings
--Attending to softwood lumber, Devil's Lake and Tech Cominco


3. (U) Finally, during this quarter internally, we will seek
to expand our use of an Internet tool to encourage
interagency collaboration. End Summary.


4. (C) 1st Quarter Review
--------------

In the charged political climate we operated in last quarter,
softwood lumber and climate change captured the bulk of our
attention and energies. We succeeded in making the case to a
skeptical Canadian public about our record on climate change,
preparing the groundwork for the Montreal conference and
taking the edge off the criticism we came in for at that UN
meeting. Secretary Rice's visit helped to put the softwood
lumber dispute into context, and we expect that successive
decisions in November to implement trade rulings will lay the
groundwork for renewed negotiations with a new government.
Finally, we undertook extensive preparations to ready the
Mission working with our Canadian counterparts for a possible
Avian flu pandemic.


5. (C) Goal 1
--------------

Engage new government in Canada as a global partner, to
strengthen law enforcement cooperation, to complete
high-profile SPP initiatives and to resolve high-profile
disputes.

Background - The Ambassador successfully managed to take the
U.S. out of the campaign by addressing pitfalls for the
relationship of constant anti-U.S. rhetoric. We have not
been an issue in the last 30 days of the campaign, paving the
way for a less contentious resumption of the bilateral agenda
with what should be our closest ally. The January 23
parliamentary election will bring about leadership changes,
no matter who wins. The likeliest scenario for another
minority government could continue the pattern of caution and
indecisiveness in addressing our bilateral issues. Laying
out early a concrete, specific agenda with the new government
is our best chance to get results.

The following plan of engagement applies specifically to the
increasing likelihood of a Conservative victory. While more
robust than if the Liberals were to be returned, our
engagement will still have to be smart so as to not have a PM
Harper a) accused of being too close to us and therefore b)
forced to stake out positions opposing our interests. We
recommend private interactions and we recommend a few
limited, specific requests. In our early calls we would be
wisest to ask them where best to put our efforts, recognizing
the downsides of too much engagement, too fast.

Our goals in working with a new government:

--change the tone from the top down - reduce the unnecessary
confrontations and build genuine partnership, dialogue,
resolution of problems
--fine-tune our interaction so that a Conservative government
can enact its own platform -- better law enforcement
cooperation, stronger military, stepping-up to global
responsibilities
--give a Conservative government an early success by
resolving irritants, such as Devils Lake filter system, and
entering into good faith negotiations to reach a final
solution on softwood lumber

Activities
--------------

--Request congratulatory call from the White House to newly
elected PM. (not for media consumption) Extend open
invitation to visit the White House, but first meeting may
take place at North America SPP summit proposed for Mexico in
springtime.
--Report on and establish contact with leaders in the new
government. As soon as FM announced, call from Secretary
Rice and invitation to Washington should follow.

--Give priority to Prime Minister's office, Foreign Affairs,
Justice and Public Safety departments for Ambassador's
initial meetings with new government. Establish regular
contact for Ambassador with new government.

--Encourage more White House interaction with new
government--chief of staff, NSC, HSC, CEQ

--We have currently three high-level visits proposed:
Director of National Intelligence (confirmed),U/S for
Political Affairs (accepted but specific dates tbd) and U/S
for Public Diplomacy (invited). Further, invite WHA
Assistant Secretary, NSC WHA advisor, and U/S for Global
Affairs (avian flu).

--Line-up Cabinet-level interaction -- early phone calls and
meetings -- giving priority first to Justice, Homeland
Security and USTR and then Energy, Commerce, Defense, and HHS.

--Encourage members of Congress to visit and meet
counterparts to open lines of communication.

--Work with new International Trade officials to re-start
softwood lumber talks.

--Work with CEQ and GOC/Manitoba to identify funding for
filter for Devil's Lake outlet.

--Prepare public diplomacy strategy for laying out broad
themes of international partnership, law enforcement
cooperation and promoting SPP. Use speeches by Ambassador
and monthly "Open letter to Canada" from Ambassador on our
website to highlight these themes.

-- Stress need for the legislative fixes required on critical
issues such as shiprider and land pre-clearance to ensure
seamless law enforcement at the border.

-- Identify highest priority, highest impact SPP initiatives
among the hundreds of actions identified for public and
private advocacy.


6. (U) Goal 2
--------------

Establish a virtual workspace accessible by all Mission
offices/agencies using Groove Virtual Office.

Background: Mission Canada's twenty-three agencies utilize
disparate information systems to coordinate issues of
strategic and regional importance. Often, Mission critical
and time sensitive information doesn't reach the broadest
possible audience due to information gaps and receipt delays.
Last August, an interagency group selected Groove Virtual
Office software as a common operating platform to share
information in real-time across multiple network boundaries.

Activities
--------------

-- Deploy Groove Virtual Office to a core group of internal
and external Mission agencies/offices. Broaden Groove
deployment to all Mission employees as the initiative matures.

-- Create a "Mission Canada" workspace to public frequently
used information such as GST Rebate worksheets, ICASS Service
requests, Visitor Admittance and other on-line forms, the
Mission Phone Book, local employment guidance, CLO events,
Security Advisories, Management Notices, etc.

-- Create an Emergency Management workspace to share
information relevant to Mission Canada's emergency
preparedness and response programs such as Avian Flu,
Emergency Action Committee, ChemBio, Border Security
initiatives, etc.

-- Promote the use of compartmentalized virtual workspaces
between Mission agencies to share information that requires a
more restricted and limited audience, i.e. Law Enforcement
Workgroup, Counter Terrorism, Border Security, Counter
Narcotics, etc.

--Utilize Groove Virtual Office to coordinate 2008 Mission
Performance Plan (MPP) input with external agencies;
establish a central repository for MPP historical information.

-- Evaluate the feasibility of establishing virtual
workspaces with GoC offices/agencies such as the RCMP to
share law enforcement sensitive information.

-- Provide training to all Groove users.

Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa

WILKINS