Participation of the Honourable George J. Furey, K.C., Speaker of the Senate, and the Honourable Anthony Rota, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons, to the 26th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC), Canberra, Australia

 

From January 3 to 6, 2023, the Honourable George J. Furey, K.C., Speaker of the Senate, and the Honourable Anthony Rota, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons, participated in the 26^th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC), in Canberra, Australia.

Plenary sessions were held in relation to the following topics: Parliamentarians and the Pandemic; Security; E-Parliament; and the Role of Presiding Officers in Leading Parliamentary Innovation. A special plenary session was also held concerning Training for Members and Staff.

The Conference brings together the Speakers and Presiding Officers of national, and subnational parliaments of the independent sovereign states of the Commonwealth. It was created in 1969 as an initiative of then Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, the Honourable Lucien Lamoureux. Since its inception, Canada has provided CSPOC with a secretariat to support its activities.

During the conference, both Speakers also conducted bilateral meetings with their counterparts from other Commonwealth legislatures.