Canadian Parliamentarians Meet with
Legislators from
U.S. Eastern States and Canadian
Eastern Provinces
From 16–19 August 2015, Senator David Wells,
Vice-Chair led a delegation from the Canadian Section of the Canada–United
States Inter-Parliamentary Group to the 2015 Annual Meeting and Regional Policy
Forum of the Council of State Governments/Eastern Regional Conference
(CSG/ERC). The other delegates were Senator Bob Runciman and Senator David P.
Smith. The meeting, which was held in Wilmington, Delaware, had the theme of
“Building Resilient State Economies.”
“It’s always a pleasure to attend conferences
where members of the Canada–United States Inter-Parliamentary Group can
interact with federal, state and provincial legislators,” said Senator Wells.
“From my perspective as a Senator representing an Eastern Canadian province,
this is perhaps especially true when we attend meetings of the Eastern Regional
Conference.”
Senator Wells concluded: “As is always the case, a
great many of the topics discussed at the ERC meeting were areas where both
Canada and the United States face challenges and opportunities, including
health, education, and the agriculture, fishing, forestry and energy sectors.
Of course, we’re always very interested in the discussions at the ERC’s
Canada/US Committee. This year, the Committee discussed such important
bilateral topics as enhanced trade, preclearance arrangements, and enhanced
passenger rail in the region.”
The ERC is a regional association of state
legislators from 18 member legislatures from Canada and the United States (see
Appendix). By facilitating cooperation among its member jurisdictions, the ERC
promotes multi-state or region-wide solutions to the problems and challenges
facing state and provincial legislators. Information on the ERC is available at
www.csgeast.org.
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
Mrs. Miriam Burke, Association Secretary
Canada–U.S. Inter-Parliamentary
Group - 613-944-4238
APPENDIX
Member
U.S. Jurisdictions of the Eastern Regional Conference
Connecticut
Delaware
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands
Member
Canadian Provinces of the Eastern Regional Conference
