Visit to Canada of His Excellency Degefe Bula, Speaker of the House of the Federation of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and a Parliamentary Delegation

From October 16 to 19, 2007, His Excellency Degefe Bula, Speaker of the House of the Federation of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, led a parliamentary delegation to Canada for a working visit. The delegation was composed of the Honourable Alebachew Niguse, M.P., Secretary of the Standing Committee on Revenue and Subsidy Affairs, Mr. Habtamu Nini, Head of the Secretariat of the House of the Federation , Mrs. Balemwal Kebede, Acting Head of the Civil Service Reform Office, Mr. Birhanu Sime, Head of the Department for Economic and Social Affairs, Dr. Zewdu Kebede, Senior Expert of the Department for Economic and Social Affairs, Dr. Petra Zimmermann-Steinhart, Senior Advisor to the Speaker of the House of the Federation. The delegation was also joined at times by His Excellency Getachew Hamussa Hailemarian, Ambassador of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to Canada.

At the beginning of their visit, the delegates met with representatives of the Department of Finance, the Forum of Federations, as well as the Parliamentary Centre. The delegates met with the following people at the meetings hosted by Parliament:

• The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Senator, Speaker of the Senate;
• The Honourable Peter Milliken, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons;
• Members of the Senate Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration;
• Former Members of the Senate Standing Committee on National Finance;
• Members of the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association;
• Mr. Paul C. Bélisle, Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments;
• Ms. Audrey O’Brien, Clerk of the House of Commons; and
• Mr. Alfred MacLeod, Assistant Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Relations.

This visit served to strengthen the parliamentary ties between Canadian parliamentarians and representatives and their Ethiopian counterparts. Discussions were centred on the workings of the Parliament of Canada and the interaction between the two chambers, the administrative structure of each institution and the role of parliamentary committees. The Ethiopian delegation was especially interested in the relations between the various levels of government from a financial perspective. While in Ottawa, the delegation also toured the Parliament buildings and visited the Canadian Museum of Civilization.