Members of
the Canadian Section of the Canada-U.S. IPG
Attend Meeting with U.S. State Legislators
From September 19-22, 2013, two Vice-Chairs from
the Canadian Section of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group
(IPG) – Senator Michael L. MacDonald and Mr. François Lapointe, M.P. – led a
delegation to the annual national conference of the Council of State
Governments (CSG) in Kansas City, Missouri. The other members of the delegation
were Senator Terry Mercer and Mr. Bob Zimmer, M.P.
“As always, I was pleased to be able to attend the
annual CSG national conference, as well as to meet state legislators from
throughout the United States and provincial colleagues from Canada who regularly
work with the various CSG regions,” said Senator MacDonald. “At this meeting,
members of the IPG were happy to support legislators from both countries
regarding a CSG resolution on mandatory country-of-origin labelling, or mCOOL.
North America has an integrated livestock industry, and these labelling
requirements have implications for U.S. jobs, costs and prices without
improving food safety, which is already high as a consequence of sound food
safety standards and systems in both countries. A legislative solution is
needed to fix the mCOOL problem, and the CSG resolution is a step in the right
direction.”
Mr. Lapointe concluded: “I echo the comments of my
colleague about the wonderful opportunity the conference provided to meet U.S.
state legislators and members of some of Canada’s provincial legislatures. The
IPG was also pleased to support U.S. state and Canadian provincial legislators
on a resolution in relation to the new international trade crossing between
Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario. The ability to move goods and people
safely, efficiently and cost-effectively across the shared border between
Canada and the United States is clearly a priority for both countries, and the
CSG resolution that supports the construction of the new crossing is certainly
beneficial in helping to assure that our bilateral relationship continues to
grow for our joint benefit.”
The CSG serves all three branches of state
government and provides regional fora – the western,
midwestern, southern and eastern regional conferences – through which ideas and
insights are exchanged with a view to shaping public policy. Additional
information on the CSG can be found at: www.csg.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
