Visit to Canada of Her Excellency Laura Boldrini, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Republic

From October 19 to 24, 2017, Her Excellency Laura Boldrini, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Republic, led a delegation to Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa at the invitation of the Honourable Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of Commons. The delegation was composed of Mr. Giovanni Rizzoni, Chief Counsellor, Office for International Relations; Mr. Roberto Natale, Spokesperson for the President; Ms. Valentina Loiero, Director of Communications for the President; Mr. Flavio Alivernini, Director of Social Media for the President; Mr. Mario Di Napoli, Chief Counsellor, Protocol Office; Ms. Francesca Gulmanelli, Parliamentary Assistant, Protocol Office; Mr. Massimiliano Ciotta, Chief Inspector, Italian State Police and Head of the Security Detail for the President as well as Mr. Luca Orati, Deputy Chief Inspector, Italian State Police Security Detail for the President.

His Excellency Claudio Taffuri, Ambassador of Italy to Canada, and Mr. Fabrizio Nava, Minister Counsellor at the Embassy of Croatia in Canada, also accompanied the delegation during their stay. Consul Generals Mr. Giuseppi Pastorelli and Mr. Marco Rusconi accompanied the delegation in Toronto and Montreal, respectively.

In Toronto, the delegation held a meeting with:

• His Worship, the Honourable Maurizio Bevilacqua, P.C., Mayor of the City of Vaughan.

In Montreal, the delegation met with:

• His Worship, the Honourable Denis Coderre, P.C., Mayor of the City of Montreal.

At the Kahnawake Mohawk Reserve, the delegation met with:

• Chief Christine Zachary-Deom; and
• Elder Kevin Deer.

In Ottawa, the delegation met with:

• The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P., Prime Minister of Canada;
• The Honourable George Furey, Q.C., Speaker of the Senate;
• The Honourable Geoff Regan, P.C., M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons;
• The Honourable Catherine McKenna, P.C., M.P., Minister of Environment and Climate Change; and
• The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, P.C., M.P., Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

The members of the delegation began their visit in Toronto where they visited the Corvetti Education Centre at the COSTI Immigration Services. In Montreal, President Boldrini gave a speech at McGill University and visited the nearby First Nations reserve of Kahnawake. During their stay, the delegation met with members of Italian communities in Toronto and Montreal.