NEWS RELEASE

Canadian Parliamentarians meet with Members of the United States Senate

On 18 May 2021, the Honourable Senator Michael L. MacDonald and the Honourable Wayne Easter, P.C., M.P., hosted a virtual meeting with congressional counterparts from the United States Senate, led by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Crapo.

Members of the Canadian Section of the Canada–United States Inter-Parliamentary Group (IPG) who attended the meeting included the Honourable Senators Paul J. Massicotte and Yuen Pau Woo, as well as Members of Parliament Vance Badawey, Colin Carrie, James Cumming, Marc Dalton, Kerry Diotte, Brian Masse, the Honourable David McGuinty, P.C., the Honourable John McKay, P.C., Mario Simard and Francesco Sorbara. U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Crapo were accompanied by Senators Roy Blunt, Tom Carper, Susan Collins, Charles Grassley, Angus King, Lisa Murkowski, Debbie Stabenow and Mark Warner.

“We had a very productive dialogue on a range of important issues, including border operations, working towards a safe border reopening plan, the environment, economic and financial cooperation, as well as cyber and Arctic security” said Senator Michael L. MacDonald, Senate Co-Chair of the Canadian Section of the IPG. “In particular, Canadian IPG members stressed the importance of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline’s continued operations, while members of the U.S. Senate stressed the need for decisive Canadian action with respect to North American telecommunications security.”

The Honourable Wayne Easter, P.C., M.P., House of Commons’ IPG Co-Chair concluded: “It was clear to all who attended that both of our counties would benefit from greater collaboration to meet the challenges of a changing world. Matters of trade, industrial and economic policy are increasingly becoming matters of national security. These issues are best addressed through partnerships with friends and allies, not in isolation, and members of the Canadian section will continue to foster a strong and effective bilateral relationship with our U.S. counterparts to meet these challenges together.

The Canada–United States IPG aims to find points of convergence in respective national policies, to initiate dialogue on points of divergence, to encourage the exchange of information and to promote better understanding among legislators on shared issues of concern. Additional information on the IPG can be found at https://www.parl.ca/diplomacy/en/associations/ceus.

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For further information:

Grant McLaughlin, Association Secretary
Canada–U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group - 613-944-4238