Visit of the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate, and a Parliamentary Delegation, Hungary

From October 10 to 16, 2014, the Speaker of the Senate, the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, led a parliamentary delegation on a visit to Hungary. The delegation was composed of Mrs. Ann Kinsella; the Honourable Claudette Tardif, Senator; the Honourable John D. Wallace, Senator; Mr. Andrew Saxton, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, and Mr. Gary W. O’Brien, Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments. Accompanying the delegation were Ms. Janelle Feldstein, Chief of Staff of the Speaker of the Senate, and Ms. Marie-Eve Belzile, Secretary to the delegation.

In Budapest the delegation met with:

• H.E. Mr. János Àder, President of the Republic of Hungary;
• H.E. Mr. László Kövér, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Hungary;
• Mr. László Szabó, Parliamentary Secretary and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade;
• Mr. Bence Rétvári, M.P., Parliamentary State Secretary, Ministry for Human Resources;
• Mr. Péter Hoppál, M.P., State Secretary for Culture, Ministry for Human Resources;
• Dr. Paul C. Simak, Chief Executive and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CIB Bank;
• Mr. András Heisler, President of the Mazsihisz (Alliance of Hungarian Jewish Faith Communities); and
• Mr. Csaba Ternyák, Archbishop of Eger, Vice-President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Hungary.

While in Budapest, the delegation participated in a roundtable discussion with representatives of the Hungarian civil society on the human rights situation in Hungary. The delegation was also invited to a dinner hosted by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hungary where delegates discussed the current business climate in Budapest. The Canadian Embassy hosted a reception in honour of the delegation and the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and Hungary. To increase its awareness of Hungary’s cultural variety and historic wealth, the delegation visited St-Stephen’s Basilica, the Great Synagogue of Budapest and the Basilica of Esztergom.

In Visegrád, the delegation met with:

• Mr. Sándor Hadházy, M.P., Member of the Committee on Justice.

The purposes of the visit were to promote Canadian interests and democratic values, enhance parliamentary cooperation and underline the importance of people to people relations Canada and Hungary share following the Hungarian refugee movement of 1956. The delegation debated matters of trade and investment, economy, and human rights. The delegation also discussed the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and promoted the potential of the Atlantic Gateway and Trade Corridor. Some meetings touched on inclusion and inter-faith dialogue while others allowed members of the delegation to sense and discuss human rights issues in Hungary. All meetings stressed the importance of ongoing parliamentary dialogue and the benefits of increasing student, young worker and academic exchanges.

This visit to Hungary was the first high-level Canadian parliamentary visit since 2003.

View report.