ParlAmericas
held its 30th Meeting of the Board of Directors in the city of Medellin,
Colombia. Participants expressed gratitude to the host, Mr. German Blanco,
Member of the Chamber of Deputies, for the hospitality shown to them in Medellin.
Mr. Randy Hoback, M.P. led a delegation representing the Canadian Section of
ParlAmericas, which also included the Hon. Michael L. MacDonald, accompanied by
Mrs. Guyanne L. Desforges, Association Secretary to the Canadian Section. Mr.
Hoback attended the meeting in his capacity as President of ParlAmericas, and
Senator MacDonald attended as the Canadian representative on the Board of
Directors. The main objectives of the meeting were to hear about progress on
preparations for the 10th ParlAmericas Plenary Assembly to be held
in Costa Rica (tbd), to receive various updates from Board members and
Secretariat staff, to generate ideas for a long term funding strategy and
financing plan for the association, and to consider the new draft regulations
being prepared for ParlAmericas, which encompass numerous aspects of governance
of the organization.
Meeting
Opening (See Appendix A for a complete list of participants)
Mr. Randy
Hoback, President and Chair of the meeting, opened the session. He welcomed the
meeting participants and thanked Mr. Germán Alcides Blanco for his warm
welcome, his support and for hosting this ParlAmericas meeting.
Member of
the Chamber of Deputies, Mr. Blanco, presented welcoming remarks to the
participants. He spoke enthusiastically about Medellin, one of the three
finalists to hold the 2018 Youth Olympics. He introduced Dr. Juan Camilo
Quintero Medina, Advisor on Internationalization and Development to the
municipality of Medellin who brought greetings on behalf of the Mayor of
Medellin. Both wished the Board members a successful meeting, and hoped that
everyone would enjoy their stay in Medellin.
Mr. Hoback
then introduced all those who were present, and gave the regrets of those who
could not be in attendance, including those of Deputy Linda Machuca Moscoso,
President of the Group of the Women Parliamentarians who had been retained for
work in Ecuador, and was therefore not able to participate. Dr. Jennifer
Simons, Speaker of the National Assembly of Suriname was the acting President
of the Group of Women Parliamentarians and consequently the host of the
upcoming meeting of the Gathering in May of 2013.
Special
Session of the Fundraising and Financial Standing Committee
Mr. Michel
Rathier, consultant, invited all board members to participate in a
brainstorming session, to generate ideas which will result in formulating a
long term funding strategy and financial plan for the association. The
presentation outlined the current situation of ParlAmericas, its objectives,
its achievements, and its challenges. Also it outlined the financial resources
required to ensure the future viability of the Institution and the business
case to engage partners who share ParlAmericas’ vision and goals. ParlAmericas
is seeking to secure sponsorship funding for its coming operations for fiscal
year 2014 to 2015.
Adoption of
the Agenda
Mr. Hoback
invited members to consider the draft meeting agenda. The Board of Directors
members agreed with the proposal, and the agenda was adopted.
Approval of
the Report of the 29thBoard of Directors Meeting
The meeting
proceeded with the consideration of the report of the 29th ParlAmericas
Board of Directors meeting, held in Panama City, Panama, on August 29 and
September 1, 2012.
President’s
Report
Mr. Hoback referred
to his written report as he updated Board of Director members on his activities
since the last meeting in September 2012. He mentioned his participation in the
Atlantic Basin Initiative, coordinated by Johns Hopkins University, which
considered ways to work more effectively among Atlantic nations.
Mr. Hoback
informed the Board that he had met with various Ambassadors (Guatemala,
Colombia, Haiti, Ecuador, Chili and Costa Rica) during the fall. He also noted
that he had accompanied the Governor General of Canada, the Rt. Hon. David
Johnston, on his working visit to Mexico, for the inauguration of Enrique Pena
Nieto as President of Mexico. The official visit continued to Peru and
Guatemala in December 2012.
Update on
Recent Activities of Board of Directors Members
Mr. Buchanan
stated that Jamaica had received a visit from GOPAC Canada, with an interest on
parliamentary oversight.
Ms. Ruiz
indicated that as the president of International Affairs Commission for Costa
Rica, she kept in contact with Ambassadors of all countries that visited Costa
Rica, including recent meetings with members of the European Parliament and the
OECD.
Dr. Simons
met with a number of Caribbean states and sought to mobilize their
participation in ParlAmericas, including Dominican Republic, Trinidad &
Tobago, and representatives of Caricom.
Update from
Group of Women Parliamentarians Gathering
Dr. Simons
reported that a technical committee was established in Suriname which maintained
contact with the International Secretariat as preparations remained on-going
for the upcoming Gathering. The theme and title of the event had been chosen: “Women
in Power: Recent Changes in the Political Arena”.
The Director
General of the International Secretariat, Ms.Gina Hill, presented a proposal on
behalf of Ms. Machuca, the President of the Group of Women parliamentarians
regarding the possibility of ParlAmericas making an application for formal
status with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Following a
discussion which included the involved costs, process of choosing the
Parliamentarians attending the meetings; the strategy, the expectations of
formally reporting back to the Board; and the condition that all participation
in IPU activities would be coordinated with the International Secretariat; a
resolution was accepted.
The
following resolution moved by Mr. Hugh Buchanan (Jamaica), seconded by Mr.
Victor Juliao (Panama) and was unanimously asddopted:
That the Board of Directors instructs the International Secretariat
to apply for Permanent Observer Status with IPU. Attendance at meetings will
be contingent upon available resources and/or funded by Board members
themselves
International
Secretariat Report
Ms Gina
Hill, Director General of ParlAmericas pointed to the written report circulated
to members and explained that this new more comprehensive reporting mechanism
was developed to facilitate the Board’s understanding of the work done by the
International Secretariat. Ms. Hill highlighted that each bullet item had
several steps or components to it. President Hoback expressed his appreciation
for the detailed report, and commended the organization’s willingness to
undertake and accomplish difficult tasks has taken on much more work compared
to a few years ago. He encouraged Board members to review the Secretariat’s
report.
Ms. Viviane
Rossini, Program Manager, was then invited to give a brief overview of the
major activities undertaken since the last meeting of September 2012. She
presented a draft work plan for the period of April 2013 to March 2014, which
highlighted numerous activities related to projects currently implemented with
CIDA funding.
Ms Rossini
then provided the Board of Directors with a report on the organization’s
finances. Her report compared actual revenues and expenses to the forecast
figures for the year ending September 30, 2012. Ms. Rossini also answered
questions from the Board. The report indicated that the year ended with a net
revenue of $60,078 (CAD).
The Board of
Directors approved both the proposed Work Plan for the year 2013-2014, as
presented and the budget for the period of October 1, 2012 to September 30,
2013, as presented.
Ms. Hill
then presented a document to the Board regarding an initiative that the
International Secretariat had been pursuing to build on the success of the
capacity building workshop held in Antigua and Barbuda in January 2012, on
budget oversight. With the support of a consultant working pro bono, a
roadmap had been developed along with a critical path of activities. Further,
dialogue had occurred with a number of interested organizations as to the
possibility of joining forces to seek funding, and to implement modules
identified in the critical path.
It was
agreed unanimously that the Board of Directors authorizes the International
Secretariat to pursue discussions with the named organizations, with a purpose
to secure funding, and carry out activities to further strengthen parliamentary
budget oversight in the Caribbean.
Standing
Committee Reports
Mr. Randy
Hoback reported that he and Senator MacDonald had had a very positive informal meeting
with Scotiabank representatives in January. In their discussion,
it was raised that ParlAmericas ought to emulate the best practices, as to
fundraising, of organizations that have demonstrated successful approaches to
fundraising, while also being sure to target a diversity of potential sources
of funds.
10th
Plenary Assembly Preparations
Ms. Hill informed the Board of Directors that the location
of the next Assembly remained uncertain, following discussions with Peru as
potential host, as well as Costa Rica, who had previously offered to host the
Group of Women Parliamentarians Gathering in 2013. She went on to explain that
this would not be the traditional case of the host country covering the
majority of costs, but that the International Secretariat would have to use
funds from the CIDA project to pay the expenses of the
Plenary Assembly, and that this would require reducing expenditures in other
areas. She then invited Ms. Maria Jeannette Ruiz to speak to the matter.
Ms. Ruiz
explained that as of May 1, 2013, there will be a new President of the Assembly
in Costa Rica, and that preliminary conversations with the likely new President
have been positively received. She noted that even with a willingness to host
the Plenary Assembly, there would be a need for additional sources of funding
as the budget for the period had already been allocated, and that Costa Rica
would therefore look for other sponsorships from within the country. Ms. Ruiz
indicated that she would continue to work closely with the Director General of
ParlAmericas on this matter, and that they would present a budget to the new
President iof the Assembly in May 2013.
The Board
then turned to the question of the agenda, the theme, and the sub-topics of the
upcoming Plenary Assembly. The Board members discussed a number of points
including: the desire for more space for exchange among parliamentarians; the
need for follow-up with participants after the discussions as to their
usefulness; and the possibility of creating a flexible agenda that could
accommodate larger or smaller groups depending on the number of participants in
attendance. The Chair noted consensus on the proposal to reduce the number of
Working Groups to two, and the session organized by the Group of Women
Parliamentarians.
Discussion
then turned to the specific Themes and Topics for the Plenary Assembly. It was
recognized that a great many topics were of interest to parliamentarians from
the region. As the overarching themes and the sub-topics presented in the
proposal before them were developed based on feedback from previous events,
they were agreed to.
The
following resolution was unanimously adopted: That the overarching theme of
the 10th Plenary Assembly be Economic Development, and that the sub-topics be
1) natural resource development (including environment and energy), and 2) food
security.
It was
further resolved that the Chairs of the Working Groups be as follows:
1)Natural Resource Development (including environment and energy):
German Blanco (Colombia)
2)Food Security : Hugh Buchanan (Jamaica)
The Chair invited Ms. Hill to review with the Board which members
had terms that were set to expire at the upcoming Plenary Assembly, and those
that had terms which carried on. The current composition of the Board was
discussed, and suggestions for modification, including comparisons to the
structures of other regional organizations were made.
It was pointed out that developing the right balance of governance
for the Board of ParlAmericas had been an on-going project to which the Board
has regularly contributed, as the organization develops its comprehensive
governance regulations. There was concern as to making yet further changes
following the arduous process already completed.
From a financial perspective, it was pointed out that the
consultant who has been supporting ParlAmericas in this initiative must now
concentrate on supporting the financing of the organization, and that there are
limited resources to handle rethinking the governance structure of the
organization. Members also recognized that a number of members have their
travel covered from the budget of ParlAmericas, and not by their assemblies,
and that it will likely not be possible to maintain that practice with a larger
Board.
Organizational
Governance
The Chair
introduced the session to review the final version of the regulations,
reminding members that Mr. Michel Rathier was working with ParlAmericas as a
consultant on key items related to the Strategic Plan adopted by the Plenary
Assembly in 2011, including the drafting of new regulations for the
organization.
Mr. Rathier
gave an overview of the process to date, and stated that there were some new
chapters as well as some sections that had been added or amended in order to
comply with the coherence of the document and to address challenges encountered
in the translation process.
There was
some debate as to whether the Regulations as presented should be considered at
all, given that there was a proposal to change the composition of the Board of
Directors. The Chair suggested that the Board create a sub-committee to develop
a concrete proposal regarding possible changes to Board composition, noting
that there are very limited resources to pay for outside support on this. The
Chair asked for volunteers.
It was
agreed that Ms. Adriana Gonzalez and Mr. Randy Hoback would review the composition
of the Board of Directors, and other relevant portions of the Regulations, and
report back to the Board with suggested revisions, and the implications of said
revisions, at the 31st Board of Directors Meeting, to be held in Suriname, in
May 2013.
It was
further resolved that, should it be necessary, the next Board of Directors
Meeting will begin one day earlier, on May 13, 2013.
Other
Business
Senator
MacDonald chaired three sessions/meetings of the ParlAmericas Corporation. It
covered approval of minutes of the annual meeting, financial statement and
election of Board of Directors of ParlAmericas Corporation.
The Chair presented a proposal that, in keeping with the
Regulations as adopted in Panama, the Board recognize the organization’s first
Non-Voting Associate to the Board of Directors. He noted the time, energy, and
guidance Mr. Michel Rathier had offered the organization, far exceeding the
terms of our contractual agreement with him. He stated his belief that Mr.
Rathier would continue to provide such support to the Board and to the
Secretariat, as a Non-Voting Associate. The Board agreed the following: That
Mr. Michel Rathier, currently serving as consultant to ParlAmericas, be
recognized as a Non-Voting Associate to the Board of Directors, pursuant to
Article 1.13 of the Regulations.
Future
Meetings and Close of Meeting
Mr. Hoback
advised that the 31st Board of Directors meeting will take place in
Paramaribo, Suriname, on May 14 & 15, 2013, prior to the Gathering of the
Women Group Parliamentarians. Board members are invited to stay on for the
Gathering to take place on May 16 and 17.Mr Hoback expressed his appreciation
to Dr. Simons for the generous offer to host both meetings.
The Chair reminded the Board that the subsequent Board of
Directors meeting would take place immediately prior to the Plenary Assembly.
The Chair
then thanked Mr. German Blanco for offering such a warm and hospitable welcome
to the members of the Board, and expressed appreciation for the work of Mr.
Blanco’s team lead by Mr. Mauro Palacio. He thanked the interpreters for their
excellent work, acknowledging that our meetings would not be possible without
their support. Mr. Hoback recognized that a great deal of preparation goes into
these meetings, and thanked Ms. Gina Hill and the International Secretariat
staff for their on-going support. Finally, he thanked everyone for their
participation, and wished everyone safe travels home.
There being
no further discussion, Mr. Hoback adjourned the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Mr. Randy Hoback, M.P.
Chair, Canadian Section
ParlAmericas