Visit to Canada of His Excellency Paavo Lipponen, Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Finland, and a Parliamentary Delegation

From October 30 to November 4, 2005, the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Finland, His Excellency Paavo Lipponen, led a delegation of members of the Parliament of Finland composed of Mr. Matti Väistö, M.P., Mr. Arto Bryggare, M.P., Mr. Olli Nepponen, M.P., Mr. Kari Uotila, M.P., Ms. Rosa Meriläinen, M.P., Mr. Pehr Löv, M.P., Mr. Seppo Kalervo Tiitinen, Director General of Parliament, Mrs. Katriina Kuusinen, Head of the International Department, Mr. Tapio Pekkola, Spokesman to the Speaker, Mr. Fredrik Udd, Security Guard and Mr. Hannu Toivonen, Media Representative, on a visit to Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Vancouver and Victoria. This visit was at the invitation of the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Honourable Peter Milliken, M.P.

While in Ottawa, the delegation met with the following people:

• Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada;
• Honourable Dan Hays, Senator, Speaker of the Senate;
• Honourable Peter Milliken, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons;
• Honourable Joseph Volpe, P.C, M.P., Minister of Citizenship and Immigration;
• Honourable Paddy Torsney, P.C., M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation;
• Members of the Executive Committee of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association;
• Mrs. Karen Kraft Sloan, Ambassador for the Environment;
• Mr. Jack Anawak, Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs; and
• Mr. Robert Miller, Executive Director, of the Parliamentary Centre

The purpose of the visit was to increase cooperation, dialogue and exchanges between Canada and the Republic of Finland. A wide range of topics were discussed by the delegation at the meetings with Canadian parliamentarians including international cooperation and trade, environmental issues, immigration, and the upcoming Finnish presidency of the European Union in the latter half of 2006.