CANADIAN VIEWS ON MERCURY AT UPCOMING UNEP

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000067 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR OES/ENV (HODAYAH FINMAN) AND WHA EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV AORC CA SUBJECT: CANADIAN VIEWS ON MERCURY AT UPCOMING UNEP GOVERNING COUNCIL REF: 06 STATE 202028 ¶1. ESTH Counselor discussed Canadian positions on the UNEP Mercury Program with Grace Howland, manager for heavy metals in the Hazardous Air Pollutants Branch at Environment Canada, on January 12. Howland expects to attend the UNEP Governing Council meeting in Nairobi next month. ¶2. Howland reported that Canada would not support a proposal to begin negotiations on a legally binding treaty to control mercury as currently configured, but admitted Canada is still studying the issue. That being said, Canada fully supports the partnership approach favored by the U.S. and participates actively in and financially supports four of the five partnerships (except for artisanal and small scale gold mining),and recently hosted a meeting of the fate and transport research partnership, which included participation by Italy, Japan, and the EPA, among others. Canada agrees with the U.S. view that negotiating a binding agreement would be a lengthy and costly endeavor and that partnerships provide a mechanism to involve the private sector and other stakeholders in activities that produce near-term results. Howland stressed ongoing close consultation with the U.S. and expects to participate in a JUSCANZ mercury teleconference next week. ¶3. Like the U.S., Canada no longer has any primary mercury mining, and is less interested in the establishment of a goal to reduce the use of mercury than work on atmospheric emissions. Canada is still developing its own views on limiting trade in mercury. Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa WILKINS