Participation of the Honourable Andrew Scheer, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons, and a Parliamentary Delegation, to the XIXth Canada-Mexico Interparliamentary Meeting (IPM), Mexico City, Mexico

From November 14 to 16, 2013, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Honourable Andrew Scheer, M.P., led a parliamentary delegation to the XIXth Canada-Mexico Interparliamentary Meeting in Mexico. The delegation was composed of the Honourable Senators Denise Batters and Joseph A. Day; Mr. David Anderson, M.P.; Mr. Guy Caron, M.P.; Mr. Sean Casey, M.P.; Mr. François Choquette, M.P.; Mr. Devinder Shory, M.P.; and Mr. Bernard Trottier, M.P. Accompanying the delegation were Mr. Darryl Whitehead, Senior Advisor to the Speaker, Ms. Marlene Sandoval, Secretary to the delegation, as well as Ms. Guyanne Desforges, Deputy Secretary to the delegation.

The visit was in reply to an invitation from the Congress of the Union of the United Mexican States.

During the meeting, the delegation met with:

From the Senate of the Republic:

• His Excellency Raúl Cervantes Andrade, Speaker of the Senate;
• Senator Mario Delgado Carrillo;
• Senator Omar Fayad Meneses;
• Senator Marcela Guerra Castillo;
• Senator Lisbeth Hernández Lecona;
• Senator David Penchyna Grub; and
• Senator Juan Carlos Romero Hicks.

From the Chamber of Deputies of the Congress of the Union:

• His Excellency Ricardo Anaya Cortés, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies;
• Deputy Jaime Bonilla Valdez;
• Deputy Eloy Cantú Segovia;
• Deputy Amalia García Medina;
• Deputy Ana Lilia Garza Cadena;
• Deputy Adriana González Carrillo;
• Deputy Rosa Elba Pérez Hernández;
• Deputy Vicario Portillo Martínez;
• Deputy Alejandro Rangel Segovia;
• Deputy Dora María Guadalupe Talamante Lemas;
• Deputy Javier Treviño Cantú;
• Deputy Lorenia Valles Samperio; and
• Deputy Fernando Zárate.

In addition to the meeting participants, many distinguished guests were also present during the session, including the ambassadors of both countries, His Excellency Francisco Suárez Dávila, Ambassador of Mexico to Canada, and Ms. Sara Hradecki, Ambassador of Canada to Mexico.

Regular Canada-Mexico Interparliamentary meetings have been held since 1975. These important gatherings enable Canadian and Mexican participants to share experiences, promote dialogue and further parliamentary relations between both countries.

The XIXth Canada-Mexico Interparliamentary Meeting focussed on two themes:

• Commercial, economic, and energy ties, and migratory affairs; and
• Educational, cultural and security-related ties.