Report

On participation at the 27^th General Assembly of the
ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO)

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) held its 27th General Assembly from September 10 to 15, 2006, in Cebu City, Philippines. The Canadian Parliament, which has the status of observer nation to AIPO sent a joint delegation of the Canada-Japan Inter-parliamentary Group and the Canada-China Legislative Association. The Canada-China Legislative Association Canada was represented by the Honourable Joseph A. Day, Senator, and the Canada-Japan Inter-parliamentary Group was represented by Mr. Bryon Wilfert, M.P., P.C. The Secretary to the Delegation was Mr. Paul Cardegna, Association Secretary to both the Canada-China Legislative Association Canada and the Canada-Japan Inter-parliamentary Group.

Conference activities:

The Canadian delegation participated in the First Plenary Session which began with statements by His Excellency José de Venecia, Jr., President of AIPO and the Honourable Robert G. Romula, Chairman of the ASEAN Standing Committee. Statements were made by the leaders of the delegations from the eight AIPO member countries (namely: Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Republic of Singapore, Kingdom of Thailand, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and Republic of the Philippines) and the two AIPO Special Observer Countries (Brunei Darussalam and Union of Myanmar).

Later, during the First Plenary Session, statements were made by the leaders of the delegations from the observer nations (namely: Australia, Canada, People’s Republic of China, European Parliament, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Russian Federation). The Honourable Joseph A. Day, Senator, made a statement on behalf of the Canadian delegation; the text of which is attached as Appendix A.

On the second day of the conference the Canadian delegation observed the delegates of the AIPO nations as they convened meetings of the following committees: Committee on Political Matters, Committee on Economic Matters, Committee on Social Matters and the Committee on Organizational Matters.

Dialogue meetings were then convened with each observer delegation. The Canadian delegates met with their counterparts from the AIPO nations to discuss a wide range of issues. The agenda for the dialogue meeting included the following topics:

1.    Regional security matters

2.    Economic and trade cooperation

3.    Investment opportunities

4.    Environmental issues

5.    Information and technology cooperation

6.    Strategies to create breakthroughs in the World Trade Organization (WTO) “Doha Round”

7.    Exchange of parliamentary visits as means of strengthening interparliamentary diplomacy

8.    Cooperation in fighting pandemic/infectious diseases like Avian flu, HIV/AIDS

The dialogue was chaired by the Honourable Edgar M. Chatto, Member of the House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines. His report summarizing the discussion’s main points was presented to the Second Plenary Session and is attached as Appendix B.

Finally, the Canadian delegation participated in the Second Plenary Session which took place on the final day of the conference. During this session, all of the reports of the committees and observer dialogues were presented to and adopted by the plenary.

The Canadian delegation was also able to arrange other private meetings in an effort to stimulate discussions designed to strengthen bilateral and multilateral relations.

Meeting with Honourable Jose de Venecia, Jr., President of AIPO and Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines

The delegates attended a courtesy call with the Honourable Jose de Venecia, Jr., President of AIPO and Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines. Senator Day began the meeting by describing the most recent political changes at the Canadian federal level while Mr. Wilfert stated that Canadian-Philippine relations were especially important due to the over 300,000 Canadians of Philippine descent.

Speaker de Venecia identified reforestation as a critical problem currently facing the Philippines in which Canadian expertise could be effective. The government of the Philippines intends to begin a vigorous tree-planting campaign that would rejuvenate the forestry industry in that country. He suggested that a Philippine-Canadian joint venture could simultaneously benefit from Canadian forestry expertise, the long growing season and abundant available land in the Philippines. He also stated how Canada’s vast knowledge of railway transportation would help rejuvenate the transportation infrastructure of the Southeast Asian nation in order to more efficiently move locally produced products for export. The Canadian delegates agreed that this provided an excellent opportunity for both countries to strengthen trade and economic links.

On the same subject, the Speaker suggested the creation of a Philippine-Canadian investment fund that could receive contributions from investors in both countries and then be used as a source of investment income for projects in the Philippines. The continuing operation of Canadian banks in the Philippines was cited as essential criteria for the success of this fund.

Finally, the subject of debt reduction for ASEAN nations was discussed, including the idea of allowing ASEAN countries to repay their debt to Canada by providing money for investment opportunities in ASEAN nations. It was suggested that this would provide an opportunity for Canada to assist while providing welcome grants for improvements in developing nations.

Meeting with Vu Mao, Director of the Committee for External Relations of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Mr. Bryon Wilfert, M.P., P.C. met with Mr. Vu Mao, Member of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Director of the Committee for External Relations and Ms. Nguyen Thi Bach Mai, Member of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Mr. Wilfert began the meeting by stating that Canada and Vietnam have enjoyed cordial relations over the past 30 years and mentioned that there are currently over 250,000 Canadians of Vietnamese descent. Vu Mao raised the topic of adoption due to the recent agreement reached between the Canadian and Vietnamese governments on the subject. The increased number of adoptions of Vietnamese children by Canadian couples has increased the importance of the issue of dual citizenship for the Canadian government. Mr. Wilfert reminded Mr. Mao that the issue had recently been the subject of considerable discussion in Canada after the evacuation of dual citizen Lebenese-Canadians from Lebanon during the summer of 2006. Both agreed that the issue was problematic and Mr. Wilfert noted that Canadian government policy on the issue was under review.

Ms. Mai stated that Vietnam intends to adopt a bill on gender equity in the near future and asked Mr. Wilfert what Canada’s experience with gender equity issues has been. Mr. Wilfert responded that the drive for gender equality has meant more women are taking a larger role in the workplace in Canada and creating a need for a wider discussion about work/life balance and the ability of women to sustain careers while trying to raise families.

Finally, Mr. Wilfert reiterated that meetings and discussions such as these were an excellent opportunity to exchange best practices and forge stronger relationships between Canada and Vietnam.

Meeting with H.E. Ambassador Wang Yingfan, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations and leader of the Chinese delegation to the 27th AIPO Conference

The Honourable Joseph A. Day, Senator met with H.E. Ambassador Wang Yingfan, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations and leader of the Chinese delegation to the 27th AIPO Conference. Discussions centered around Canada-China relations and the growing bilateral trade between the two nations as well as other matters of mutual interest such as anti-terrorism, immigration, North Korea and China’s role in Asia. Also, the subject of the upcoming Canada-China Legislative Association 9^th Bilateral visit to China, which is scheduled for October 2006, was raised.

Conclusion:

The delegation felt that its participation at the conference was beneficial to better understand the issues facing ASEAN nations. The time spent with their ASEAN colleagues was an excellent opportunity for Canadian parliamentarians to forge and strengthen better bilateral and multilateral relations with the nations of Southeast Asia.

Respectfully submitted,

APPENDIX A:  Speech given by Senator Day

APPENDIX B:  Report on the dialogue with Canadian Delegation

APPENDIX C:  Travel Costs