Canadian Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CCOM)

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.

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.

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association held the second of its CPA High-Level Roundtables with Commonwealth High Commissioners based in London and representatives of Overseas Territories. The newly appointed CPA Secretary-General, Stephen Twigg spoke on the topic of the ‘Working Towards a Common Future’ ahead of #CHOGM2021 and the roundtable also heard from guest panellists, Ms. Yasmin Ratansi, M.P., Chair of CPA Canadian Branch and Her Excellency Rethabile Mokaeane, High Commissioner of Lesotho to the UK.

The newly elected members of the Dominican House of Assembly participated in the post-election seminar, which is the oldest program run by the CPA. This was the second virtual seminar of its kind and was attended by representatives from throughout the Commonwealth. Ms. Yasmin Ratansi, M.P., Chair of the Canadian Branch, was invited to be a panelist. She presented approaches to conducting Public Outreach, Representation and Education, and discussed how to strengthen the voice of women in Parliament.

In partnership with the UK Modern Slavery & Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (Modern Slavery PEC), CPA UK hosted this two-day international virtual conference for parliamentarians, survivors of modern slavery, human trafficking and forced labour, NGOs, government officials, researchers and civil society organisations from around the Commonwealth and beyond on “Assisting and Protecting Survivors of Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking and Forced Labour”. By bringing these stakeholders together with survivors and organisations working with survivors, the conference aims to increase participants’ knowledge and understanding of the support and protection needed by survivors of modern slavery, human trafficking and forced labour. The following parliamentarians attended the conference: Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne, Senator; Mr. Sameer Zuberi, M.P.; Ms. Iqra Khalid, M.P.; Mr. Arnold Viersen, M.P.