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Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members of Parliament, Ladies and Gentlemen, We are honoured to be here today to introduce ourselves and tell you about the purpose of our visit. My name is Mauril Bélanger, and I am the Member of Parliament for the riding of Ottawa–Vanier in the capital of Canada. I am a member of the Liberal Party, the third-largest party in the House of Commons. With me is the Honourable Raynell Andreychuk, a senator from the government side of the Upper House who represents the province of Saskatchewan. Let me add that Senator Andreychuk is the only Canadian parliamentarian to have been in all three branches of the government. She was a judge and ambassador for Canada (to Kenya and Somalia) before becoming a legislator. We are the co-chairs of the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association. We are honoured to be part of a delegation of six Canadian parliamentarians visiting your country. The others are Lois Brown, an MP from the government side who represents an Ontario riding and is also Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development; Yvon Godin, a member of the Official Opposition who represents a New Brunswick riding; Jim Hillyer, a government MP who represents a riding in Alberta; and Senator Jim Munson, a member of the Official Opposition in the Senate. As you can see, our delegation has representatives from both houses of the Parliament of Canada and from all the recognized political parties in Parliament. I would be remiss if I did not also mention our ambassador, Her Excellency Chantal de Varennes. The objectives of the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association are to: · encourage dialogue and cooperation between African and Canadian parliamentarians on issues such as democracy, good governance, human rights, security and economic development; · enhance Canadian parliamentarians’ understanding of the issues and challenges facing African countries; and · propose initiatives to improve understanding of bilateral and multilateral issues. This is the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association’s first visit to Côte d’Ivoire. However, some of us have been here before: Senator Andreychuk for the inauguration of President Ouattara and me on a trip with former Canadian minister Denis Paradis and for the 25th annual meeting of the Assemblée internationale des parlementaires de langue française (AIPLF). Our goal is to better understand where Côte d’Ivoire stands today, two years after the legislative elections held in December 2011. Free and fair elections are prerequisites for democracy, but elections alone cannot guarantee a deep and functioning democracy. As you know, democracy is built on several institutions: the rule of law, an independent judiciary and an effective legislature. Legislatures are the drivers of democracy. They ensure that the views of citizens are duly represented between elections, that the executive is held accountable for its decisions and that legislation is properly drafted, reviewed and enacted. Democracy is affirmed through elections. However, it thrives on effective and influential legislatures. The role of parliamentarians is even more critical in the context of emerging or consolidating democracies. The Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association is one mechanism through which we, as Canadian parliamentarians, reach out to you and other parliamentarians across Africa. Finally, we are certain that our meetings and discussions during this visit will be very fruitful for us. We hope they will be equally helpful for you as you continue building a multi-party democracy in which the people of Côte d’Ivoire can move toward prosperity in a safe and peaceful setting. Thank you. -30-
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