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Canadian
Section of the Canada-US Inter-Parliamentary Group Meets From May 7-10, 2010, Senator Janis Johnson, Co-Chair, and Mr. Gord Brown, M.P., Co-Chair, led a delegation of Senators and Members of the House of Commons (see attached list) to the 51st Annual Meeting of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group in New Orleans, Louisiana. “At each annual meeting – and the 51st Annual Meeting was no exception – members of the Canadian delegation welcome the opportunity to meet face-to-face and to engage our US counterparts in honest and constructive dialogue about areas of agreement, issues of contention, and ways of working together for our joint benefit,” said Senator Johnson. Gord Brown continued: “During our meeting, we discussed a range of issues that are critical for the prosperity of our countries and the standard of living of our citizens, but also topics that are important from an international perspective. In the context of economic and trade issues, we highlighted expected amendments to the Canadian Copyright Act, financial system reforms in the wake of the global financial and economic crisis, and the need to ensure the efficient movement of legitimate commerce and people across our common border.” “Our international focus included consideration of environmental and sovereignty as well as other challenges in the Arctic, issues related to the international mission in Afghanistan, and the need to continue to focus on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. Discussions of transborder environmental issues focused on problems arising as a consequence of Asian carp and efforts to mitigate their spread, the benefits of harmonization of climate change regulation on a bilateral basis, and access to the US energy market, with particular discussion of the Alberta oil sands and hydroelectricity as a renewable resource. Clearly, these issues have national, binational and – in some cases – international importance,” observed Senator Johnson. In addition to substantive discussions on these bilateral and multilateral issues, delegates also learned about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and efforts to protect New Orleans from future weather-related events. “We were particularly pleased to receive a detailed and virtually up-to-the-minute briefing on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In some sense, the meeting was held at ‘ground zero’ for the spill, and – with offshore drilling of interest on both the east and the west coasts of Canada, and with water currents leading to the possibility that Canada could be affected by the spill – Canadians were extremely interested in learning all they could about the spill,” commented Mr. Brown. Senator Johnson commented: “As well, delegates were able to learn first-hand about the efforts under way by the US Army Corps of Engineers to protect New Orleans through construction and reinforcement of dykes, levees and canal systems. Certainly, weather disasters of all types, and how we respond to them and protect our citizens, are areas where best practices must be shared. It was encouraging to see the efforts being taken to protect the city and its citizens.” Gord Brown concluded: “Our meetings were extremely productive, and we certainly look forward to hosting constructive meetings next year in Newfoundland and Labrador. Of course, we will be engaging in ongoing dialogue with our US counterparts on priority issues as they arise, and hope to undertake individual Congressional visits early next year.” 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 http://www.parl.gc.ca/iia/Association.aspx?Lang=E&DCId=4&DTId=6&P=overview&ORGId=1383. -30- For further information: Mr. Gord Brown, M.P., Co-Chair, Canada-
Canada-United States Mr. Chad Mariage, Executive Secretary, Canada-United
States
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