Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association (CAEU)

Mr. Larry Bagnell, Member of Parliament for Yukon and Mr. Larry Maguire, Member of Parliament for Brandon-Souris, Manitoba, represented the Canadian Parliament at the meeting of the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (SCPAR) held virtually on February 25, 2021. The meeting featured a report from the Icelandic member on the work of parliamentarians to have the Government of Iceland respond to recommendations included in past conference statements on topics such as health, economic development and digital broadband among others. Members of SCPAR provided updates on the status of COVID-19 cases in circumpolar regions and advances in vaccination distribution. The social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been significant in most countries. A common issue of concern was that border closures in Nordic countries have been problematic as many people work and live in different countries. Further, border closures have hindered the mobility of Sami across their traditional territories. Members from the European Parliament, the Kingdom of Denmark and the Russian Federation provided updates on their strategies for the Arctic. A new study from Greenland highlighted that Greenlanders would like closer collaboration with Iceland, the United States, and Canada. SCPAR members also finalized the themes for the April Conference Statement.

Executive members of the Canadian Parliamentary Association of Canada-Europe (CAEU) joined their counterparts from the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Canada (D-CA) on a videoconference call on January 26, 2021. Mr. Scott Simms, M.P., President, CAEU, the Hon. Peter Boehm, Senator, the Hon. Percy Downe, Senator, the Hon. Larry Bagnell, M.P., the Hon. Michael L. MacDonald, Senator, the Hon. Wayne Easter, M.P., the Hon. John McKay, M.P., and Mr. Stéphane Bergeron, M.P. were joined by Mr. Javier Zarzalejos (Spain), Ms. Danuta Hübner (Poland), Mr. Ondrej Kovarík (Czechia), and Ms. Ruža Tomašic (Croatia). The main items discussed were the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the Canada–U.K. Trade Continuity Agreement, and relations with the United States (U.S).