Report

 

The Canadian delegation was composed of the following members:

From the Senate:  Hon. Donald Neil Plett, Head of Delegation, Hon. Michael L. MacDonald and Hon. Jim Munson.

From the House of Commons:  Mr. Dennis Bevington, Mrs. Nina Grewal, Mr. Pierre Lemieux, Mr. Marc-André Morin, Mr. Dave Van Kesteren, Mr. Mike Wallace and Ms. Wai Young.

The delegation was assisted by Mr. Roger Préfontaine, Executive Secretary of the Canada-Japan Inter-Parliamentary Group and the Canada-China Legislative Association.

The Honourable Donald Neil Plett, Senator, led the Canadian parliamentary delegation which participated in the 20th Annual Meeting of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), held in Tokyo, Japan from January 8 to January 12, 2012.  326 delegates from 20 member parliaments and one observer country attended the meeting.  The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) was also represented at the conference. The Forum, held on an annual basis, is one of the most significant and diverse gatherings of parliamentarians from the Asia-Pacific Region. The Canadian Head of Delegation attended the Executive Committee meeting. Canadian delegates made various interventions throughout the forum and actively participated in the debate in the drafting committee and its subcommittees.

During the 20th Meeting, delegates exchanged views on a number of agenda items which were grouped in four broad categories:

1) Political and Security Issues in the Asia-Pacific;

2) Economic and Trade Issues in the Asia-Pacific;

3) Regional Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region; and

4) Future Work of APPF.

The program of the conference is attached in Appendix A.

The Forum allowed for dynamic discussions between parliamentarians and led to the adoption of a Joint Communiqué and 13 resolutions on a wide range of subjects including the global financial situation; the United Nations Millennium Development Goals; cooperation in disaster prevention; combating terrorism, illicit drug trafficking and organized crime; nuclear safety; food security; the Middle East Peace Process; energy security; economy and trade as well as promoting cultural, education and personal exchanges in the Asia-Pacific region. The text of the Joint Communiqué can be found in Appendix B and the adopted resolutions in Appendix C.

During the final plenary session, the Forum adopted the New APPF Rules of Procedure and a new statement of mission entitled the New Tokyo Declaration. These documents are attached in Appendices D and E.

While attending the conference, the Canadian delegation was also able to participate in a bilateral meeting with representatives of the Japan-Canada Diet Friendship League (Appendix F).

Conclusion

The Canadian Parliament attaches great importance to the work of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) and is proud to be one of its founding members.  The Forum has allowed Canadian parliamentarians to engage in dialogue with their international counterparts throughout the Asia Pacific region.  Given the global economic situation, the need to guard against protectionist tendencies and this region’s growing political and economic influence, it is of increasing strategic importance for Canada to maintain an active presence in this Forum. The Canadian section of APPF looks forward to participating in the 21st Annual Meeting in Vladivostok, Russia in January 2013.

Respectfully submitted,