Visit of the Honourable Peter Milliken, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons, and a Parliamentary Delegation, United Kingdom and Serbia

From July 12 to 18, 2010, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Honourable Peter Milliken, M.P., led a parliamentary delegation on a visit to the United Kingdom and Serbia. The delegation was composed of the following Members of Parliament: Mr. Andrew Scheer, Mr. Pierre Paquette, Mr. Alan Tonks and Ms. Chris Charlton. Accompanying the delegation were Ms. Audrey O’Brien (U.K. only), Clerk of the House of Commons, Ms. Heather Bradley, Director of Communications, Office of the Speaker, and Mr. Michel Marcotte, Secretary to the delegation.

In London, United Kingdom, the delegation met with:

• His Excellency John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons;
• The Right Honourable Sir Alan Beith, M.P.;
• Mr. Greg Knight, M.P. and Chairman of the Procedure Committee;
• Mr. Malcom Jack, Clerk of the House and Chief Executive of the House of Commons;
• Mr. Robert Rogers, Director General of the Department of Chamber and Committee Services and Clerk Assistant;
• Mr. David Natzler, Clerk of Legislation;
• Mr. Simon Patrick, Clerk of Bills;
• Mr. Chris Stanton, Deputy Principal Clerk, Public Bill Office;
• Ms. Jacqy Sharpe, Clerk of Committees;
• Mr. Liam Laurence Smyth, Clerk of the Journal's Branch;
• Mr. Michael Carpenter, Speaker’s Counsel and Head of Legal Services;
• Mr. John Borley, Director General of the Department of Facilities;
• Mr. John Pullinger, Librarian and Director General of the Department of Information Services; and
• Ms. Eileen Walker, Director of Public Information.

Speaker Milliken, Mr. Scheer and Ms. O’Brien also met Mr. Mark Hutton, Clerk of the Overseas Office, while the rest of the delegation met Mr. Andrew Tuggey, Secretary of the UK Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA). The delegation also attended a sitting of the House of Commons, during which its presence was noted, and took a tour of the Parliament Buildings.

The purpose of the visit to United Kingdom was to learn more about the recent changes in the procedures and practices at the British House of Commons, as well as to strengthen parliamentary relations between Canada and the United Kingdom.

In Belgrade, Serbia, the delegation met with:

• His Excellency Boris Tadić, President of the Republic of Serbia;
• His Excellency Mirko Cvetković, Prime Minister;
• Ms. Vesna Arsić, State Secretary, Ministry of Economy and Regional Development;
• His Excellency Tomica Milosavljević, Minister of Health;
• Her Excellency Slavica Djukić (Đukić) Dejanović, Speaker of the National Assembly;
• Ms. Judita Popović, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly;
• Mr. Zoran Jeftić, State Secretary, Ministry of Defence;
• Mr. Mirko Stefanović, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
• Mr. Slobodan Homen, State Secretary, Ministry of Justice; and
• Mr. Dragoljub Mićunović, M.P., Committee for Foreign Affairs.

The delegates visited the New Cemetery in Belgrade where they placed a wreath and paused for a moment of silence in front of the tomb of the late Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Dr. Zoran  Djindjic (Đinđić), along with Serbian M.P.s: Ms. Gorica Mojović, Mr. Konstantin Samofalov and Ms. Maja Vukadinović. The delegation also visited BD Agro Farm, Europe’s biggest Dairy Farm, and had a tour of the main cultural and historical sights of Belgrade.

The purpose of the visit to Serbia was to renew and strengthen relations between Canada and Serbia by promoting the establishment of ongoing parliamentary dialogue and future parliamentary exchanges. It provided opportunities for discussion on foreign policy regarding issues of international and mutual interest, and on subjects of common interest arising from our membership in various multilateral organizations.