Cablegate: Canada: Response to Demarche On Community Of

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

261427Z Apr 05

UNCLAS OTTAWA 001248

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR DRL (KARI JOHNSTONE AND DAVID DENEHY) AND WHA/CAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KDEM PREL CA
SUBJECT: CANADA: RESPONSE TO DEMARCHE ON COMMUNITY OF
DEMOCRACIES ELECTION STANDARDS INITIATIVE

REF: A. STATE 071948

B. OTTAWA 001175

1. (SBU) Poloff delivered the demarche (per ref a) outlining
a USG initiative to develop universal election standards that
will be presented at the April 28-30 Community of Democracies
(CD) Ministerial in Santiago, to Jessica Blitt, Policy
Advisor in the Peacebuilding and Human Security Division at
Foreign Affairs Canada (FAC), on April 20. Blitt thanked us
for the opportunity to review our initiative before the CD
Ministerial, indicated that she would pass the points as
appropriate within FAC, and advised that the Canadian
delegation to the conference would likely be headed by Marie
Gervais-Vidricaire, Director General of the Global Issues
Branch at FAC.

2. (SBU) Continuing, she also said that Jean-Pierre
Kingsley, Chief Elections Officer at Elections Canada, may
attend as well, given his interest in the issues described in
the USG proposal. In a separate conversation with poloff,
Diane Davidson, Deputy Chief Electoral Officer at Elections
Canada, advised that Kingley would like to attend, if there
is a meaningful role for him at the conference. However,
Davidson noted that the possibility that a parliamentary
election might be called could preclude Kingsley from
traveling abroad during this timeframe.

3. (SBU) Charge spoke with both Peter Harder, Deputy Foreign
Minister, and Jonathan Fried, Senior Foreign Policy Advisor
to the Prime Minister, to press the GoC to send a more senior
representative, emphasizing that Secretary Rice would be
announcing the initiative in Santiago and that the CD
Ministerial was aligned closely with Canada's new
International Policy Statement (published last week).

4. (SBU) As indicated ref b, Harder reiterated that it was
unlikely that Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew would be able
to attend, given the ongoing parliamentary crisis and the
possibility that the minority Liberal government may fall at
any point. (Note: Harder himself is scheduled to be in
Berlin during the timeframe of the CD Ministerial). Fried
agreed that the GoC should be represented at a higher level,
and will work the issue from the Privy Council Office.

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

DICKSON

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