CANADA TO PARTICIPATE IN GICNT EVENT, SEEKS ADVICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L OTTAWA 000257 SIPDIS STATE FOR ISN E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2019 TAGS: PTER PINS KGIC PARM PREL CA SUBJECT: CANADA TO PARTICIPATE IN GICNT EVENT, SEEKS ADVICE ON BIO-TERROR REF: STATE 22354 Classified By: PolMinCouns Scott Bellard, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) This is an action request -- see para 5. ¶2. (C) In response to reftel, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) Senior Policy Officer David MacDuff said he, or perhaps one of his Seoul-based colleagues, would represent Canada at the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) Exercise Planning Group (EPG) in Korea on April 16. (Budget shortfalls at DFAIT are the cause for the uncertainty about Canadian representation, MacDuff explained.) ¶3. (C) Despite its strong support for the GICNT and the EPG, Ottawa likely would not be able to host an exercise until after Canada hosts the 2010 Winter Olympics and the G-8 Summit in 2010, MacDuff said. He added that Canada will nonetheless continue to participate in the initiative in other ways, including its regular participation in GICNT meetings and exercises, and its support for web-based courses. ¶4. (C) On bio-terrorism, MacDuff inquired whether the new U.S. administration plans to raise the issue in the G-8 context, perhaps with a view to "reviving" it as an issue for the "almost dormant" G-8 Non-proliferation Directors Group. Other venues such as Roma-Lyon, or even the GICNT, might also be appropriate, he observed. He underscored that Canada's own internal discussions of the matter would benefit from U.S. thinking at this stage. ¶5. (C) Action request -- please advise regarding the preferred venue for U.S. multilateral engagement to combat bio-terrorism. Visit Canada,s North American partnership community at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / BREESE