Canadian IPG
Parliamentarians Attend Meeting with U.S. Western State Legislators
From July 30 to August 2 2013, Mr. Rick
Dykstra, M.P., Vice-Chair and Mr. Brian Masse, M.P., Vice-Chair led a
delegation from the Canadian Section of the Canada-United States
Inter-Parliamentary Group to the 66th annual meeting of the Council
of State Governments-WEST (CSG-WEST), in Las Vegas, Nevada. The
meeting, which was focused on “Bright Lights: Shining on the Progress of the
West,” was also attended by Senators Jean-Guy Dagenais and Jim Munson, Mr.
Andrew Saxton, M.P. and the Honourable Judy Sgro, P.C., M.P.
“As was the case last year, I was very pleased to be able to attend
the annual meeting of the Council of State Governments-WEST, and
particularly the North American Summit and the inaugural meeting of the
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. The North American Summit discussed a
number of issues that will be important for us to consider as North American
countries continue to cooperate with a view to global competitiveness, and the
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee meeting provided me with an opportunity
to present the Canadian view on the United States’ mandatory country-of-origin
labelling – or COOL – requirements,” said Mr. Dykstra.
Mr. Masse concluded: “Like my colleague, Mr. Dykstra, I was happy to
be able to comment on the COOL requirements, and the entire Canadian delegation
was pleased with the resolution passed by the CSG-WEST’s Executive
Committee. The resolution – which mirrors that recently adopted at the
CSG-Midwest’s annual meeting – recognizes that Canada and the United States
have an integrated livestock industry. It also notes the COOL requirement’s
detrimental effects, including on the U.S. packing and feeding industries. In
addition, many of the committee sessions that were held addressed important
topics that are of interest to both Canada and the United States.”
Founded 61 years ago, the Council of State
Governments-WEST is a non-partisan organization comprised of the
legislatures of the 13 western states (see the list below). British Columbia
and Alberta are associate members. Additional information on the CSG-WEST
can be found at: www.csgwest.org
It should be noted that the views
expressed in this news release are specific to the Canadian Section of the
Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group and, as such, may not reflect
the views of our United States counterparts.
The Canada-United States
Inter-Parliamentary Group aims to find points of convergence in respective
national policies, to initiate dialogue on points of divergence, to encourage
the exchange of information, and to promote better understanding among legislators
on shared issues of concern. Additional information on the Group can be found
at: www.parl.gc.ca/iia/us.
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For further information:
Hon. Janis Johnson,
Senator, Co-Chair
Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group - 613-943-1430
Mr. Gord Brown, M.P., Co-Chair
Canada-U.S.
Inter-Parliamentary Group - 613-992-8756
Ms. Angela Crandall, Association Secretary
Canada-U.S.
Inter-Parliamentary Group - 613-944-4238
