Canadian
Parliamentarians attend the 2013 annual summit of the Pacific From 14-19 July 2013, Senator Daniel Lang, Vice-Chair and James Rajotte, M.P., Vice-Chair led a delegation from the Canadian Section of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group (IPG) to the 23rd annual summit of the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER). Entitled “The Future of the North: Opportunities, Challenges and Regional Solutions,” the summit was held in Anchorage, Alaska. The delegation also included Senator Jane Cordy, the Honourable Rob Merrifield, P.C., M.P., Nathan Cullen, M.P. and Joyce Murray, M.P. “The 2013 annual summit covered a wide range of topics that affect both Canada and the United States,” said Mr. Rajotte. “Certainly, there are many opportunities for bilateral cooperation and the sharing of best practices in such areas as energy, the Arctic, the common border, innovation, disaster resilience, workforce development, trade and economic development, agriculture and invasive species, among others. As the current chair of the House of Commons Finance Committee, and as a prior chair of the House Industry Committee, I found the sessions on innovation and economic development to be particularly valuable. Overall, the presentations were extremely informative, and the discussions I had with meeting participants were enlightening.” Senator Lang concluded: “As a member of the Senate Energy Committee, and as a Senator who represents Yukon, I was particularly pleased to be able to participate in the energy and Arctic discussions, although I must agree with my colleague, Mr. Rajotte: all of the presentations were insightful, and they will assist me in fulfilling my responsibilities. From my perspective, the Arctic presentations were particularly important, as Canada is currently the chair of the Arctic Council, and I will certainly be sharing the information that I gained about North American renewable and non-renewable energy resources, and energy distribution, with my committee colleagues as we undertake our various energy-related studies.” PNWER, which was created in 1991, is a statutory, bi-national public-private partnership composed of five U.S. states – Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington – and, in Canada, three provinces and two territories – Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories and Yukon. Additional information about PNWER can be found at: www.pnwer.org. It should be noted that the views expressed in this news release are specific to the Canadian Section of the IPG and, as such, may not reflect the views of our United States counterparts. The IPG 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: Hon. Janis Johnson, Senator, Co-Chair
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