Interparliamentary Activities and Reports

On 17 November 2020, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) organized a webinar on “Universal health coverage [UHC] in times of COVID-19 ¬– Parliamentary best practices and challenges.” Members of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union UIPU) participated, two of whom, Rachel Blaney, MP and Sven Spengemann, MP were featured presenters together with Dr. Pechdau Tohmeena from Thailand’s House of Representatives and David Clarke from the World Health Organization. Senator Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia also attended.

In her remarks, Ms. Blaney highlighted the key role played by Tommy Douglas in introducing UHC to Canada over fifty years ago, noting that it has become one of Canada’s most valued institutions. While emphasizing that many Canadians have benefitted from UHC, she also observed that challenges continue to exist, in particular for seniors, women, and racialized communities. She stated that these challenges have been notably exacerbated in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. As well, she underscored the role that the Canadian parliament is playing in considering options to expand Canada’s health system to include a national pharmacare program and in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Spengemann acknowledged that, while Canada has a high global ranking regarding UHC, the system is not perfect. Among the challenges Canada faces as it strives to implement UHC more broadly is the country’s vast geography and the related difficulty of accessing remote communities. He highlighted the difficulties faced by Indigenous peoples as well as recommendations by national and international processes that call on their healthcare rights to be upheld. He also underscored the importance of national as well as global collaboration to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly where the development and distribution of vaccines are concerned. In this respect, he noted the contributions Canada has made to the global effort.

The webinar, which was attended by over 80 participants, was intended as an initial step in holding parliaments to account for the implementation of the IPU resolution, “Achieving universal health coverage by 2030: The role of parliaments in ensuring the right to health,” adopted at the 141st Assembly in October 2019.

Circular Economy – Sustainable approaches to build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic

The 17th Plenary Assembly of ParlAmericas provided an opportunity to share on the different measures that parliaments have taken or can take to implement sustainable and equitable production systems, considering the forthcoming economic packages for the reconstruction of our economies post COVID-19 pandemic, and to progressively meet the 2030 sustainable development agenda. The working sessions on November 16, 2020 (English and French) and November 20 (Spanish and Portuguese) facilitated an exchange of good parliamentary practices for the implementation of this agenda in the parliaments of the hemisphere. Each country delegation presented a statement related to the event theme at the plenary session of November 27, 2020. The plenary assembly concluded with the reading of the final declaration and the Board of Directors elections.

On 13 November 2020, members of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas met virtually with officials from Global Affairs Canada (GAC) for a briefing on the political and public health situation in various countries in South America, Central America and the Caribbean. The Canadian Section was represented by Mr. Marc Serré, M.P., Chair of the Canadian Section, Senator Rosa Galvez, Vice-Chair of the Canadian Section and Vice-President (North America) of ParlAmericas' Parliamentary Network on Climate Change (PNCC), Ms. Julie Dzerowicz, M.P., Vice-Chair of the Canadian Section, Ms. Soraya Martinez Ferrada, M.P., Senator Marie-Françoise Mégie and Mr. Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, M.P.

GAC officials provided information about the ways in which various countries in the western hemisphere are managing the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. They also outlined some of the Government of Canada's trade considerations and international development projects in countries in the hemisphere, and described the ways in which Canada has been applying a "COVID-19 lens" to assess how best to support countries as they address the pandemic while continuing to focus on previously identified priorities in each country, such as advancing the equality of women and men, or enhancing trade.

Officials from GAC and members of the Canadian Section discussed governance, trade, investment and environmental issues, as well as future actions that the Canadian Section could take in engaging with other parliamentarians in the western hemisphere.

On 10 November 2020, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) hosted a virtual session of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2020 Parliamentary Roundtable, Building trust in a time of COVID-19 response and post-COVID-19 recovery. Mr. Liu Zhenmin, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Mr. Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary General, provided opening remarks. Participants included parliamentarians from various IPU member parliaments, including the Parliament of Canada, as well as other stakeholders. They emphasized the opportunities presented by the Internet, as well as the challenges surrounding the spreading misinformation. In this context, the discussion highlighted the importance of inter-parliamentary dialogue and parliamentary leadership in sharing best practices, especially with regard to security and working with industry. Participants agreed that parliaments need to work proactively to rebuild the trust that has been eroded by misinformation. Many discussed the establishment of Internet access as a basic human right in their country, as well as the importance of bridging the digital divide between the technology “haves” and the “have-nots,” including improved digital literacy. The session also took note of the need to reform current Internet governance models and the role of global agreements on data, e-commerce among others in this respect, as well as the importance of increased participation by young parliamentarians in these matters.

The Hon. Peter M. Boehm, Senator; the Hon. Josée Forest-Niesing, Senator; and the Hon. Kim Pate, Senator, participated in a videoconference call with the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Canada (D-CA). D-CA participants included Ms. Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (Chair, France) and Mr. Ondrej Kovarík (Czechia). Dr. Christian Burgsmüller, the European Union’s Deputy Head of Mission in Canada, introduced himself and delivered brief remarks on Canada and the EU’s alignment on a range of economic and foreign policy issues, including the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the imposition of sanctions on Belarus. He said the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and the Strategic Partnership Agreement have provided the bilateral relationship with a solid base. He also highlighted bilateral cooperation in areas including climate change and artificial intelligence – the meeting’s main topics of discussion. Following Dr. Burgsmüller’s remarks, Ms. Jytte Guteland, Rapporteur for EU Climate Law, and Mr. Axel Voss, Rapporteur for the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a Digital Age, addressed the participants on both subjects. Ms. Guteland highlighted the EU’s greenhouse gas emission targets – most notably its goal to be climate neutral by 2050 – as well as its Green Deal plan to transition to a clean, circular economy. Mr. Voss stressed that Canada and the EU share similar values with respect to the development of trustworthy and safe AI and noted that Canada was the first country to launch a national AI strategy. He insisted on the need to strike a balance between privacy and innovation. The meeting concluded with a preliminary discussion about the date for the next meeting. Mr. Kovarík added that, when conditions permit, D-CA would like to like to travel to Canada for the interparliamentary meeting that was supposed to take place in November 2020.

The 206th Session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Governing Council (Extraordinary Virtual Session) took place 1–3 November 2020. The Governing Council is the primary oversight body of the IPU and is made up of representatives from all member parliaments. It has a variety of subsidiary bodies which report to it, including the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, the Committee on Middle East Questions and the Forum of Women Parliamentarians. Decisions of the Governing Council are most often taken by consensus. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions to international travel, the session took place with a reduced agenda, focusing primarily on the election of the President for the 2020-2023 term, the IPU’s budget, decisions of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, and future meetings of the IPU. Over 400 Council members from 144 national parliaments participated, of which 40% were women and 25% young parliamentarians. The Canadian delegation comprised:

• the Honourable David McGuinty, P.C., M.P., President of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (UIPU) and Vice-President of the IPU Executive Committee for the Twelve Plus Group (official delegate);

• the Honourable Salma Ataullahjan, Senator, Vice-President of the UIPU, Chair of the IPU Committee on Middle East Questions, and Bureau member of the IPU’s Forum of Women Parliamentarians (observer);

• the Honourable Senator Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia, Senator, Member of the Executive of the UIPU (official delegate);

• Ms. Marilène Gill, M.P., Member of the Executive of the UIPU (observer); and

• Ms. Stephanie Kusie, M.P. (official delegate).

The Asia-Pacific Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union met in advance of the 206th virtual session of the Governing Council. The Honourable Salma Ataullahjan, Senator, represented Canada at the meeting.

The agenda included briefings on recent activities by the IPU’s Executive Committee and the ASEAN+3 Group, as well as the IPU presidential election taking place during the Governing Council. Senator Ataullahjan addressed the Group as a candidate for the IPU presidency.

The Executive Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) met in advance of the 206th virtual session of the Governing Council. The Honourable David McGuinty, President of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (UIPU) and the 12+ Group's IPU Executive Committee Vice-President, attended the meeting.

The members in attendance were given an update on the preparations for the upcoming session of the IPU Governing Council and discussed financial matters and future meetings of the IPU. They also continued discussions on the status of some IPU memberships.

On 30 October 2020, members of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas and of the diplomatic community representing the countries of Latin America held a virtual reception to recognize Latin American Heritage Month and to celebrate the contributions that members of Latin American communities have made to Canada.

Mr. Marc Serré, M.P., Chair of ParlAmericas’ Canadian Section, and Her Excellency Sofia Lastenia Cerrato Rodriguez, Ambassador of Honduras to Canada and Dean of the Latin America Group of Ambassadors, co-hosted the reception. Others attending from the Canadian Section were Senator Rosa Galvez, Vice-Chair of the Canadian Section and Vice-President (North America) of ParlAmericas' Parliamentary Network on Climate Change (PNCC), Ms. Julie Dzerowicz, M.P., Vice-Chair of the Canadian Section, Mr. Stéphane Bergeron, M.P., Ms. Stephanie Kusie, M.P., Ms. Soraya Martinez Ferrada and Mr. Robert Oliphant, M.P., all of whom made remarks to the participants.

Representatives of the following countries attended the reception: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Peru.

Mr. Serré outlined some of the activities in which the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas has been involved since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Senator Galvez highlighted that the pandemic has affected people differently, depending on such factors as age, gender and sector of employment. Some foreign participants expressed their gratitude for Canadian parliamentarians’ efforts to support their countries during the pandemic. Others discussed the strong ties between Canada and the countries in the western hemisphere, and said that they look forward to future opportunities to gather and to get to know each other better, ideally in person.