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### Viewing cable 05OTTAWA1819, DEVILS LAKE, ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE WEIGHS IN

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
05OTTAWA1819 | 2005-06-15 20:20 | 2011-04-28 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED | Embassy Ottawa

`

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

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 001819

    SIPDIS

    STATE FOR OES (TURNER), WHA/CAN (BREESE, NELSON)

    WHITE HOUSE FOR CEQ

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: SENV PBTS CA
    SUBJECT: DEVILS LAKE, ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE WEIGHS IN

    ¶1. Summary: In a press conference on June 14 the House of
    Commons Environment Committee called on the federal
    government to act decisively and exhaust "all diplomatic
    and/or legal options" to stop the Devils Lake outlet from
    commencing operation until it has been reviewed by the IJC.
    The Committee's unanimous support for the resolution was
    overshadowed by the incendiary rhetoric of a Manitoba M.P.
    (not from the Committee) who called on Canada to impose
    trade sanction to achieve that objective. The statements of
    Environment Committee members and the Committee Resolution
    were, in contrast, forceful but measured. End summary.

    ¶2. The House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment
    and Sustainable Development held a press conference the
    afternoon of Tuesday, June 14 to announce they had adopted a
    resolution calling for the United States to join Canada in a
    joint reference to the International Joint Commission (IJC)
    on Devils Lake.  They also announced they will soon be
    sending a letter to Secretary Rice reiterating that demand
    and also forcefully requesting that the President become
    engaged on this issue and make a decision.

    ¶3. Support for the resolution was unanimous, a rarity in
    Parliament these days, although there were differences
    evident in the four parties' positions as they made their
    statements.

    ¶4. Perhaps most significant, however, was what occurred just
    as the Committee members concluded the press conference.
    Manitoba NDP Member of Parliament, Pat Martin (who is not a
    member of the Committee) took the podium and provided the
    press with some incendiary rhetoric.  Martin, with
    much passion, told the assembled reporters that:  "Diplomacy
    has not worked" and "Canada's bargaining stance has been on
    its knees" and "the time for a diplomatic solution is
    over".  The NDP Member of Parliament elaborated,
    saying "It's time to take the gloves off and get tough with
    the United States", "lets start talking about trade
    sanctions" and, alluding to the energy relationship between
    Canada and the United States, he added "Let the bastards
    freeze in the dark".

    ¶5. The statements of Environment Committee members and the
    Committee Resolution were, in contrast, forceful but
    measured.  Of course Martin's "freezing" line made the
    headlines in today's papers, overshadowing the all-party
    consensus that fellow NDP M.P. Nathan Cullen, who authored
    the resolution, had so carefully crafted.  Indeed, we
    understand that Cullen, was so incensed at Martin's
    intemperate remarks that he and Martin who typically sit
    alongside one another in the House of Commons had to be
    relocated away from one another during last nights series of
    budget votes.  Supposedly Martin received the cold shoulder
    from the rest of the NDP caucus as well.

    ¶6. The resolution is brief, the key statement is that
    ".whereas the said water diversion may have serious and
    harmful ecological and economic repercussions in Canada; Be
    it resolved that the Standing Committee on the Environment &
    Sustainable Development urgently calls upon the Government
    of Canada to immediately exhaust any and all diplomatic
    and/or legal options available to prevent any water
    diversion from Devils Lake, North Dakota until the project
    has been reviewed by the International Joint Commission."

    ¶7. The Committee's resolution is available at:

     http://www.parl.gc.ca/committee/CommitteePubl ication.aspx?S
    ourceId=120911

    ¶8. During the Q&A session the Liberal members of the
    Committee, Chairman Alan Tonks and Bryon Wilfert,
    Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment (who
    represents the Minister and the government on this
    committee), emphasized that the current situation is
    untenable and expressed concern what precedent the Devils
    Lake issue will set if a reference to the IJC is not made.
    Tonks and Wilfert also stressed that negotiations are on-
    going between the two governments, but they noted it is
    critical to get the President fully engaged on this matter.
    Tonks and Wilfert alluded several times to also being open
    to alternatives to an IJC reference, as long as that
    process would achieve the same ends as an IJC reference,
    i.e. science-based consideration of the facts and an
    impartial recommendation.  (Comment: Wilfert would
    definitely have been briefed on the CEQ meeting of June 13).

    ¶9. When the assembled press asked a question about linking
    the Devils Lake issue with trade to gain leverage, David
    McGuinty, a Liberal MP and brother of Ontario Premier Dalton
    McGuinty noted that perhaps it is necessary to reexamine the
    Canadian relationship with the United States,
    and Canadian sovereignty more generally, in the context of
    continental environmental stewardship.  McGuinty, a former
    Chair of Canada's National Economic and Environmental think-
    tank the National Roundtable on the Environment and the
    Economy (NRTEE), added that former Canadian Ambassador to
    the USA, Raymond Chrtien claimed he spent about 40% of his
    time on bilateral environmental issues, underscoring that
    perhaps these issues need a higher profile generally in the
    relationship.
    ¶10. In response to being pressed on alternatives to an IJC
    reference, Tonks mentioned that there are avenues such as a
    reference to the International Court of Justice, but he
    stressed that this was not being contemplated and that
    linkage to other issues (whether environmental or trade
    related) was premature.  He also mentioned the possibility
    of a unilateral reference to the IJC, but exclaimed that
    this is not a favored option.

    ¶11. The Conservative Party's Critic for the Environment, Bob
    Mills, expressed support for an IJC reference as the most
    expeditious means to achieve a solution that all parties
    could live with.  But he took the Liberal government to task
    for refusing the 2002 USG suggestion of an IJC reference at
    that time and Mills referenced the June 10 letter from the
    ND Congressional delegation to President Bush; Liberal M.P.
    Wilfert suggested, however, that there were several factual
    inaccuracies in that letter.  Mills added that the
    Boundary Waters Treaty is over 90 years old and suggested
    that it needs to be modernized (a sentiment similar to that
    expressed by Liberal David McGuinty).

    ¶12. Nathan Cullen, NDP Environment critic and author of the
    Committee resolution, said that the GoC must ramp up the
    pressure on the United States on all available fronts, and
    the full range of diplomatic tools must be used - he chose
    not to elaborate.  He claimed that if the Administration
    allows the DL outlet to operate it will do serious damage to
    the bilateral relationship

    ¶13. Finally, Bernard Bigras, Bloc Quebecois Environment
    critic, explained that his party fears that a dangerous
    precedent will be set if the Devils Lake matter is not
    referred to the IJC - including an erosion of the utility
    and effectiveness to the two governments of the IJC in the
    future.

    Dickson

`