Visit to Canada of the Honourable Sephiri Enoch Motanyane, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Lesotho, and a Parliamentary Delegation

From June 3 to 7, 2013, the Honourable Sephiri Enoch Motanyane, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Lesotho, led a parliamentary delegation on an official visit to Ottawa and Toronto at the invitation of the Honourable Andrew Scheer, Speaker of the House of Commons. The delegation was composed of the Honourable Mamonaheng Mokitimi, Vice-President of the Senate of the Kingdom of Lesotho; the Honourable Prince Maliehe, M.P.; the Honourable Retšelisitsoe C. Masenyetse, M.P.; and Ms. Libuseng Majoro, Deputy Clerk at the National Assembly. Her Excellency Dr. Theresia Mathabo Tsepa, High Commissioner for the Kingdom of Lesotho to Canada also accompanied the delegation during their stay.

In Ottawa, the delegation met with :

• The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate;
• The Honourable Andrew Scheer, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons;
• The Honourable John Baird, P.C., M.P., Minister of Foreign Affairs;
• The Honourable Mauril Bélanger, P.C., M.P., and the Honourable Raynell Andreychuk, Senator, Co-Chairs of the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association, as well as members of the Association;
• The Honourable Salma Ataullahjan, Senator, and President of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU);
• The Honourable Don Meredith, Senator;
• Members of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights;
• Members of the House of Commons’ Subcommittee on Private Members’ Business;
• Ms. Audrey O’Brien, Clerk of the House of Commons;
• Ms. Mary Dawson, Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner;
• Ms. Sonia L’Heureux, Parliamentary Librarian;
• Mr. Stéphan Aubé, Chief Information Officer;
• Mr. Michel Patrice, Deputy Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel for the Senate;
• Ms. Heather Lank, Principal Clerk, Committees Directorate, Senate; and
• Mr. André Gagnon, Clerk Assistant, Committees Directorate and Legislative Services, House of Commons.

In Toronto, the delegation met with:

• The Honourable Dave Levac, MPP, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario;
• The Honourable Michael Coteau, MPP, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration;
• The Honourable Eric Hoskins, MPP, Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment;
• Mr. Jim Wilson, MPP, Opposition House Leader;
• Mr. Rosario Marchese, MPP;
• Ms. Maria Bau-Coote, Deputy Lord Mayor of Niagara-on-the-Lake;
• Ms. Tonia Grannum, Clerk of Procedural Services; and
• Mr. Nick Viris and Ms. Iryna Linkova, Financial Services Branch.

In addition to these meetings, the delegates visited Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls.

The visit served to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries and allowed the delegates to meet with various Canadian officials. A number of topics were discussed, including the functioning of the Parliament of Canada, Parliamentary procedure in a bicameral Parliament and a provincial parliament, accountability, the role of parliamentary officers , trade, immigration, and education.