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Canadian Parliamentarians Attend the Annual Summit of the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region From 16-20 July 2010, the Honourable Senator Wilfred Moore, Q.C., led a delegation of selected members of the Canadian Section of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group (IPG) to the Annual Summit of the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER), entitled: “An Energized Outlook: Leading the Way,” in Calgary, Alberta. In addition to Senator Moore, the summit was attended by the Honourable Senator Raynell Andreychuk, the Honourable Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P. and Mr. LaVar Payne, M.P. The Annual Summit covered a wide range of topics, including border issues, energy, transportation, water policy and the environment. Of particular interest to the IPG delegates were the sessions on the oil sands and the steps that are being taken to mitigate the environmental impacts of oil sands production. Senator Moore stated that it was very beneficial for Canadian members of the IPG to attend these meetings and cited the fact that they had learned from US officials here that the US Department of Homeland Security is going to issue the “Northern Border Strategy” this fall. This document will set out the updated policy of the US with regard to the border it shares with Canada. Senator Moore went on to say that the delegates hope that this strategy does not create any further delays in the timely movement of legitimate people and goods between our two countries. IPG members believe that these parliamentary exchanges are essential in order to understand better and ultimately resolve the issues facing our two countries. For this reason, they believe that the IPG should continue to participate in these meetings. 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. -30- For further information:
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