Cablegate: Nspd/Hspd On Arctic Policy - Request Consideration

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UNCLAS E F T O SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 001198

NOFORN
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA, OES, EEB, INR, EUR
WHITE HOUSE ALSO FOR CEQ

E.O. 12958: DNG: UN 09/12/2018
TAGS: SENV EWWT PBTS TPHY TSPL CA
SUBJECT: NSPD/HSPD ON ARCTIC POLICY - REQUEST CONSIDERATION
TO DELAY RELEASE

Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect accordingly. Not
for release outside the U.S. Government.

1. (SBU) Summary. Embassy strongly believes release of the
new Arctic Policy National Security Presidential
Directive/Homeland Security Presidential Directive during
Canada's federal election campaign has the potential to
insert the United States as an issue in the campaign and
negatively impact U.S.-Canadian relations. Embassy requests
Washington agencies to delay the release of the new policy
until after the October 14 election. End summary.

2. (SBU) Embassy understands the United States is preparing
to release a new National Security Policy Directive/Homeland
Security Policy Directive on U.S. policy toward the Arctic.
Embassy appreciates that Washington agencies are developing a
"roll-out strategy" aimed at ensuring our new policy is not
misinterpreted by host country governments and stressing the
value we place on cooperation among Arctic states on science
and protecting the environment.

3. (SBU) Prime Minister Harper has made the Arctic a priority
focus for his government. The current Canadian federal
election campaign will pay significant attention to the
Arctic, with the Prime Minister echoing the themes of
Canada's Arctic heritage and sovereignty he has enunciated
regularly in the past. As we have reported, the Arctic and
Arctic "sovereignty" are issues of great importance to
Canadians, and support for greater Canadian activity in the
Arctic is universally popular among the Canadian electorate.

4. (SBU) We disagree with Canada's position on the status of
the Northwest Passage and have questions over some of the
measures Canada has announced recently (such as Harper's
August 27 suggestion that Canada would make mandatory the
vessel traffic reporting provisions of its existing NORDREG
system that are now just "encouraged"), but for the most part
we support what Canada is doing to increase its presence in
the Arctic. As the President said in Montebello on August
21, 2007, "the United States does not question Canadian
sovereignty over its Arctic islands, and the United States
supports Canadian investments that have been made to exercise
its sovereignty." Already at a high level, our cooperation
with Canada on Arctic research continues to expand, as
evidenced by the ongoing joint cruise for Arctic seabed
mapping of U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard vessels.

5. (SBU) While we understand the new Arctic policy NSPD/HSPD
will not announce changes with respect to our current
relationship with Canada in the Arctic (including over the
status of the Northwest Passage, Canadian sovereignty over
its Arctic islands, the Beaufort Sea maritime boundary, or
our long-standing cooperation with Canada on Arctic issues in
general), the issuance of a new United States Arctic policy
during the Canadian federal election campaign will provoke
considerable attention ) almost regardless of what the
policy says ) and may play a role in the campaign and
Qpolicy says ) and may play a role in the campaign and
election. In the current environment Embassy expects that
all parties vying in the election would criticize a new U.S.
Arctic policy, and other parties would be especially harsh in
their criticism of Stephen Harper's Conservatives for not
having dissuaded the U.S. from issuing that new policy. That
harsh criticism might resonate widely among the electorate,
and we run the risk of provoking a response that could lead
to a hardening of positions and a lessening of the overall
excellent cooperation we maintain with Canada in the Arctic.

6. (SBU) For these reasons, Embassy requests the Department
and other Washington agencies delay the release of the
NSPD/HSPD on Arctic policy until after the conclusion of the
Canadian federal election on October 14.

OTTAWA 00001198 002 OF 002

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