Report of the Canadian Parliamentary Delegation Respecting its Participation at the 26th Meeting of the Executive Committee and the 8th Plenary Assembly Canadian Section of ParlAmericas Asunción, Paraguay, September 7 to 10, 2011 - Diplomacy

ParlAmericas, formerly the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas (FIPA), is an independent network made up of national legislatures that are also members of the Organization of American States (OAS). ParlAmericas members are committed to promoting parliamentary participation in the inter-American system and developing inter-parliamentary dialogue on issues of importance to the hemisphere. ParlAmericas seeks to encourage the sharing of experiences and best practices amongst its members, and it works to strengthen the role of legislatures in democratic development and to promote harmonization of legislation and hemispheric integration as instruments of sustainable and harmonious development in the region.

ParlAmericas was constituted at the Inaugural Meeting under the auspices of the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa in 2001. The Forum is based on three main bodies, namely: the Plenary Assembly, the Executive Committee and the Technical Secretariat. The Plenary Assembly, which is held annually, is an information exchange platform where Parliamentarians of the Americas can discuss various themes aiming to foster legislators’ role in hemispheric integration, and democratic and economic development.

Canada has been strongly involved in ParlAmericas since its inception. On September 10, 2011, Randy Hoback (Prince Albert, CPC) was elected President of ParlAmericas. Mr. Hoback has been the head of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas since April 2010. He became the second Canadian president of ParlAmericas, following Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette, who held this position from 2001 to 2006. In addition, the ParlAmericas Technical Secretariat is incorporated in Canada and is based in Ottawa. Canada is also in charge of maintaining the ParlAmericas website. This site plays a key role in the organization’s activities as it hosts the Virtual Parliament of the Americas, which allows ParlAmericas’ working groups to continue their discussions, as this would be done in a parliamentary chamber or committee room, using electronic communication and technical support.