Interparliamentary Activities and Reports

The newly elected members of the Bermuda House of Assembly participated in the post-election seminar, which is the oldest program run by the CPA. This was a virtual seminar and was attended by representatives from throughout the Commonwealth. The newly elected Members of the House of Assembly, chosen to represent Bermuda’s approx. 64,000 citizens, join the Parliament in a year that marks 400 years after it first sat at St Peter’s Church in St George in 1620. The CPA Post-Election Seminar programme offers elected Members of Parliament the opportunity to examine the core elements of democratic governance and to explore examples of best practice from across the Commonwealth. Hon. Yuen Pau Woo, Senator, Member of the Executive Committee, was invited to be a panellist. He presented an overview of a parliamentary committee system, including examples of best practice from the Senate of Canada.

Meeting of the Permanent Delegation of the APF Bureau – November 30, 2020 The permanent delegation of the APF Bureau meets when convened by the APF’s President. It has the power to decide on exceptional administrative matters. It also monitors the implementation of interparliamentary cooperation programs in accordance with the guidelines given by the plenary assembly and presents the APF’s programs and annual budget to the Bureau. Between meetings of the Bureau, it exercises all the powers of the Bureau and reports on its activities at the next Bureau meeting. MP Francis Drouin, President of the Canadian Branch and First Vice-President of the APF, chaired the meeting on behalf of the APF’s President. The members of the permanent delegation discussed the political situations in Armenia, Lebanon and Mali. They also discussed security in the G5 Sahel region and a partnership agreement between the APF and the Interparliamentary Committee-G5 Sahel. It was also decided to send future APF missions to Armenia, Lebanon and Mali when delegates’ security can be assured. Members also discussed the election observation mission to Côte d’Ivoire and the rights of Ivorian parliamentarians. They also discussed the OIF fact-finding mission on the November 22 presidential and legislative elections in Burkina Faso. Together with APF Parliamentary Secretary General Jacques Krabal, the mission studied the pre-election phase and voting and counting. The defense of French and multilingualism within European institutions and on the APF’s digital portal was also touched on, as well as the international conference planned in partnership with the AUF. Finally, it was proposed that the APF should carry out two types of missions in the future: political missions and thematic missions.

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.

For more information, see the report: Report of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas

On 25 November 2020, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) co-hosted with the Kofi Annan Foundation a virtual session on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The event brought together over 60 participants, including parliamentarians as well as representatives from various international organizations and civil society groups. The Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (UIPU) was represented by Senator Marilou McPhedran, Senator Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia, MP, Mr. Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, MP, Ms. Iqra Khalid, MP, Ms. Lindsay Mathyssen, MP, and Mr. Sven Spengemann, MP. The session featured presentations by Mr. Martin Chungong, Secretary General of the IPU; Ms. Anita Bhatia, UN Women; Ms. Hilary Gbedemah, Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women Committee; and Ms. Carmen Alanis, Former Chief Justice of Mexico. The session highlighted various aspects of the issue of violence against women, including its growing prevalence as a “shadow pandemic” in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, the importance of including women and men in approaches to address the problem, and the role parliamentarians play in enacting key legislation to address the many barriers that persist. Many participants and panelists also stressed the need for reliable data on violence against women specifically and gender equality generally in order to better inform more effective public policies.

CPA Webinar for Speakers and Presiding Officers: COVID-19 and Independent Parliaments The Honourable Anthony Rota, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons and President of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), was a panelist at the CPA webinar for Speakers and Presiding Officers along with participants from Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom and KwaZulu-Natal. They all emphasized the importance of independent parliaments and legislatures and the adaptations that have been made, especially during the COVID-19 global pandemic, during the second webinar on this topic organized by the CPA. The CPA webinar provided a timely and unique opportunity to examine the nature of parliaments as independent institutions in the context of COVID 19. Speaker Rota discussed the Canadian Parliament’s experience with virtual proceedings during the pandemic and the importance of a healthy and functioning parliament to democracy. The Parliament of Canada has implemented hybrid proceedings as a temporary measure in consultation with both parliamentarians and parliamentary staff and required the opposition’s support to pass emergency legislation. The CPA webinar was attended by Speakers and Presiding Officers from many Commonwealth parliaments including those in Uganda, Mauritius, South Africa, Zambia, Malta, Alberta, Bermuda, Sierra Leone, Ontario, Lesotho, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Yukon, Saint Lucia, Cayman Islands, Guyana, Malawi, Seychelles, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Falkland Islands, Jersey, the Western Cape and Gauteng.

Meeting of the Ministerial Conference of the Francophonie – November 24, 2020 MP Francis Drouin, President of the Canadian Branch and First Vice-President of the APF, participated in the 37th Ministerial Conference of the Francophonie on behalf of the APF’s President. The Ministerial Conference of the Francophonie (MCF) is one of three bodies enshrined in the Francophonie Charter, along with the Summit and the Permanent Council of the Francophonie (PCF). The MCF ensures the political continuity of the Summit. Members listened to the report of the Francophonie Secretary General, Louise Mushikiwabo, who is also the PCF President, on political and economic issues as well as cooperation, administrative and financial issues dealt with during the PCF’s meetings in 2020. The Secretary General also addressed the challenges of the Covid 19 pandemic for the Francophonie and “La Francophonie avec Elles” fund. She also raised the issue of respect for multilingualism within international organizations in the particular context of the pandemic. Members also heard from several ministers of Francophonie member countries on the impact of Covid 19 in their respective countries. Mr. Drouin, replacing the APF’s President, spoke at the conference on the impact of the health crisis on the APF’s work and called on the Francophonie to rally around its values of solidarity and humanism and embrace a new post-pandemic multilateralism.

ParlAmericas is run by parliamentarians for parliamentarians, with a Board of Directors composed of 21 legislators, representing 17 countries from North, South, Central America and the Caribbean. The Board, elected by the Plenary Assembly, provides governance direction for the organization and sets out the organization’s strategy. The Board of Directors is headed by the Chair, who is elected every two years and supported by a technical secretariat, located in Ottawa. Canadian MP Marc G. Serré is Canada's representative on the Board of Directors.

The 52nd meeting of the ParlAmericas Board of Directors provided an opportunity for Board members to receive an update on upcoming activities in 2020-2021 and the financial situation of the organization. In addition, Board Members considered the draft declaration on the circular economy that was submitted to representatives of ParlAmericas member countries registered at the closing session of the 17th Plenary Assembly on November 27, 2020. The Board also considered nominations received to fill the vacancies on the Board.

The 2020 Westminster Seminar, which was the 69th edition organized by the United Kingdom Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, gathered parliamentarians and clerks from every region of the Commonwealth to exchange ideas and build knowledge around topics relevant to Westminster-style democracies. The theme of the 2020 Westminster Seminar, held virtually for the first time, was: “Preparing parliamentarians for a changing world.” The seminar ran a course of three half-day sessions. The following parliamentarians attended the seminar: Hon. Rob Black, Senator; Ms. Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, M.P., and Mr. Sameer Zuberi, M.P.

Parliamentary Network on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (CECAC): November 23–24, 2020 The Parliamentary Network on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF) is a forum to share and debate ideas and strategies to fight the three diseases. The network is also a place to raise awareness and promote actions and activities in this fight, as well as a tool for French-speaking parliaments to share information and exert influence. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, MP and Vice-Chair of the Canadian Branch of the APF, participated in the work of the network. During a round table discussion, he reported on the COVID 19 pandemic’s impact on Canada’s health care systems and presented the most recent developments regarding HIV/AIDS in Canada. The network also heard from several French-speaking experts on the fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria, the role of international governance in public health and the pandemic response, the deteriorating situation of the rights of sex workers in French-speaking African countries during the COVID-19 pandemic and the expansion of health care and vaccination efforts. Lastly, the network adopted a declaration to emphasize the importance of a universal and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. The network is calling on APF member parliamentarians to speak up in their legislative assemblies and interparliamentary associations and advocate for universal access to vaccines and products to prevent, detect and treat COVID-19. The network is also urging heads of state and governments to define COVID-19 vaccines as “universal public goods.” The attendees also discussed the planning of the next meeting.