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