Visit of the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate, and a Parliamentary Delegation, England and Wales, United Kingdom and the Netherlands

From May 16 to 23, 2014, the Speaker of the Senate, the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, led a parliamentary delegation on an official visit to England and Wales, United Kingdom and to the Netherlands.  The delegation was composed of Mrs. Ann Kinsella and the Honourable Senators James S. Cowan and David Tkachuk.  Accompanying the delegation were Ms. Janelle Feldstein, Chief of Staff of the Speaker of the Senate, and Ms. Evelyne Côté, Secretary to the delegation.

While in England, Speaker Kinsella, jointly with the Honourable Andrew Scheer, Speaker of the House of Commons, had the highest honour of being granted an audience with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Speaker Kinsella and the delegation also met with:

• The Right Honourable the Baroness D’Souza, Lord Speaker;
• Lord Alton of Liverpool;
• Mr. Gordon Campbell, High Commissioner for Canada to the United Kingdom
• Lord Kakkar, Chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission;
• Dr. Richard Ware, Director of Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Project;
• Mr. Paul Martin, Director of Parliamentary Security;
• Dr. Meg Russell, Reader in British and Comparative Politics and Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit of University College London;
• Dr. William Shija, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA); and
• Mr. Andrew Tuggey, Chief Executive and Secretary of CPA UK.

During their time in Wales, the delegation met with:

• The Honourable Dame Rosemary Butler, Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales;
• Baroness Randerson, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales; and
• Mr. Callum Couper, Port Manager of ABP South Wales.

While in the Netherlands, the delegation met with:

• Her Excellency Ankie Broekers-Knol, President of the Senate of the Kingdom of the Netherlands;
• Mr. Wopke Hoekstra, Senator and Mr. Rene Leegte, Member of Parliament;
• Ambassador James Lambert;
• Dr. Geert ten Dam, Professor Frank A. van der Duyn Schouten and Mr. Adrie van de Rest of the Education Council of the Netherlands;
• Mr. Frans van Keulen, Manager of External Relation, Rotterdam Port Authority;
• Professor Alex Geer Castermans, Professor Ton Liefaard, Professor Titia Loenen, Professor Pablo Mendes de Leon, Dr. Gelijn Molier and Ms. Machteld Zee of Leiden University; and
• Ms. Garance Reus-Deelder, Managing Director, Mr. Jan Erik Dubbleman, Director of Educational Projects, and Ms. Julie Couture, Canadian Project, of Ann Frank House.

One of the objectives of the visit to England was to strengthen relations with her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada and the Monarchy. The purpose of the visit to the Palace of Westminster was to strengthen relations between the Parliament of Canada and the Palace.  The delegation had the opportunity to discuss matters relating to parliamentary governance and to discuss recent procedural and administrative changes. In addition, issues of common interests were reviewed, for example, the long terms plans for the renovation of the parliamentary precinct and security of the parliamentary precinct. The delegation also considered a range of issues regarding the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association as well as the appointments process at the House of Lords.

The main objectives of the visit to Wales were to strengthen relations between the Parliament of Canada and the National Assembly of Wales. The delegation discussed the devolution of powers from the Parliament of the United Kingdom to the National Assembly for Wales.  The delegation also met with an official of the Associated British Ports (ABP) South Wales to promote collaboration between container shipping ports and strengthen economic ties.

The purpose of the visit of the Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal was to discuss matters relating to parliamentary governance and highlight the importance of parliamentary diplomacy as well as discuss the important role of parliamentary organizations such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).  The delegation also discussed the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and promoted collaboration between container shipping ports.  They held discussions on the potential of the Atlantic Gateway through meetings with parliamentarians and senior officials of the Rotterdam Port Authority.  Furthermore, the delegation reinforced the importance of the human rights with a meeting with senior officials at the Ann Frank House. In addition, they promoted educational exchanges with faculty members of Leiden University. Finally, with the purpose of highlighting Aboriginal works of art, the delegation attended the opening of the “Nunavut’s Culture on Cloth” exhibition at the Volkenkunde Museum.

View report.