Visit of the Honourable Anthony Rota, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons, and a Parliamentary Delegation, Scotland and England, United Kingdom
From November 7 to 11, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Honourable Anthony Rota, M.P., led a parliamentary delegation on a visit to the United Kingdom, where they visited both London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland. The delegation was composed of Ms. Chantal Piché Rota; Ms. Carol Hughes, M.P.; Mr. Sukh Dhaliwal, M.P; and Ms. Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, M.P. Accompanying the delegation were Mr. Alexandre Mattard-Michaud, Chief of Staff of the Speaker of the House of Commons, and Ms. Vanessa Moss-Norbury, Secretary to the delegation.
In London, England, the delegation met with:
- The Right Honourable Lord John McFall, Speaker of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom;
- The Right Honourable Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom;
- The Right Honourable Dame Maria Miller, M.P., Chair of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association United Kingdom Branch and Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Canada;
- Mr. John Davies, Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association;
- Mr. Jarvis Matiya, Deputy Secretary General of Operations of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Executive Committee;
- Mr. Matthew Hamlyn, Strategic Director, Chamber Business Team;
- Mr. Allison Giles, Director, Parliamentary Security Department; and
- Mr. Ted Barry, Deputy Director, Parliamentary Security Department.
The delegation was also honoured to have attended the opening ceremony of the Constituency Garden of Remembrance at the Palace of Westminster.
In Edinburgh, Scotland, the delegation met with:
- The Right Honourable Alison Johnstone, Member of the Scottish Parliament (M.S.P.), Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament;
- Mr. Liam McArthur, M.S.P. and Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament;
- Ms. Annabelle Ewing, M.S.P. and Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament;
- Ms. Sarah Boyack, M.S.P.;
- Mr. Stuart McMillan, M.S.P.;
- Mr. Jeremy Balfour, M.S.P.;
- Ms. Tracey White, Group Head of Legislation and Parliamentary Business;
- Ms. Becky Thomson, Head of Security; Scottish Parliament; and
- Mr. Barry Lang, Security Operations Manager.
The purpose of the visit was to exchange on the security of Members of the respective parliaments in their constituencies, within their parliamentary precinct and on social media related to online threats. Other topics of discussion included striking a balance between the security of members and public access to the assembly’s precinct; strategies and plans to emerge from the pandemic – including plans and parameters for future virtual or hybrid sittings; and experiences with renovations to parliamentary buildings.
Beyond the already mentioned meetings, Speaker Rota and the delegation had the opportunity to informally exchange with several Members of Parliament in both jurisdictions, where matters such as the bilateral relationship and the importance of parliamentary exchanges were highlighted and expanded upon.
The report will be available once it has been tabled in the House of Commons.