Report

 

Mr. Joe Preston, MP attended and  represented the Canadian Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association as a resource person at the CPA Parliamentary Seminar for Trinidad and Tobago from January 24^th  to 27^th, 2011.

The Seminar was well attended by Members of Parliament and Senators from Trinidad and Tobago.

The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate of Trinidad and Tobago took part in the discussions over the two days of meetings. Mr. Preston, M.P., as resource person gave a presentation on the development of the Commonwealth and the Role of the CPA.

The topics discussed were as follows:

·The Development of the Commonwealth and the Role of the CPA

·Ethics and Accountability of Members - Codes of ethics, concept of accountability; legislation on integrity in public life as it relates to Parliamentarians;

·Interpretation and Application of Rules of the House and Practice and Procedure in the House

·Parliamentary Privileges - Privileges and immunities of Parliament including freedom of speech in debate, the right to the exclusive cognizance of its proceedings; privileges of witnesses before Committees; papers ordered to be printed; breaches and contempt; the procedure for raising a matter of privilege;

·Role of the Presiding Officer and other officials - The role and functions of the Presiding Officers.  The duties and responsibilities of Parliamentary Corporate Officers. Proper parliamentary protocol and the use of the Standing Orders;

·Critical Aspect of Debates - Important aspects of debate in the House; form and content of speeches; relevance in debate; laying and admissibility of documents; good debating skills; interruptions; definition of a point of order; emergency debates;

·The Role of the Opposition - The role and responsibilities of the opposition; private Members bills and motions; questions to Ministers, matters on the adjournment; the role of the Whip;

·Services for Members and Parliamentary Protocol – Parliamentary administration, Parliamentary Library and research facilities, other staffing support; Members’ remuneration; constituency services;

·Parliament and the Media - televising and broadcasting of proceedings in Parliament; freedom of the press and freedom of information; the value of an independent media;

· Conclusions and Way Forward

The other resource persons who attended the Seminar were Derrick Smith, Jamaica; Rick Barker, New Zealand; Huw Williams, Scotland; Barendra Sinanan, and Catherine Gordon, Trinidad and Tobago.

The seminar and discussions were very enriching and informative for all parliamentarians.  All delegates took part in the discussions and the debates and sessions were lengthy and extremely informative.

 

Respectfully submitted,