Visit of the Honourable George J. Furey, Q.C., Speaker of the Senate, and a Parliamentary Delegation, Slovenia and Czech Republic

From September 5 to 9, 2016, the Speaker of the Senate, the Honourable George J. Furey, Q.C., led a parliamentary delegation on a visit to Slovenia and the Czech Republic. The delegation was composed of Mrs. Karen Furey, the Honourable Terry M. Mercer, Senator, the Honourable David M. Wells, Senator and Ms. Nicole Proulx, Chief Corporate Services Officer and Clerk of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration. Accompanying the delegation were Mr. Stuart Barnable, Chief of Staff of the Speaker of the Senate, and Ms. Evelyne Côté, Secretary to the delegation.

In Ljubljana, the delegation met with:

• His Excellency Miro Cerar, Prime Minister;
• His Excellency Borut Pahor, President;
• Mr. Karl Erjavec, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs;
• His Excellency Mitja Bervar, President of the National Council;
• His Excellency Dr. Milan Brglez, President of the National Assembly;
• Mr. Igor Ivancic, Deputy Secretary General of the National Assembly;
• Ambassador Damjan Bergant, Director of the International Trust Fund Enhancing Human Security;
• Colonel Boštan Blaznik, Head of the NATO Mountain Warfare Centre of Excellence.

To increase its awareness of Slovenia’s sports culture and alpine heritage, the delegation had the opportunity to visit the Planica Nordic Centre and the Slovene Alpine Museum.

The purpose of the visit to Slovenia was to promote Canadian interests, such as EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and to discuss Canada’s bid to seek a seat on the United Nations Security Council for 2020-2021. The delegation also discussed matters such as parliamentary cooperation, the effects of Brexit on the European Union and the world and the migration crisis.

In Prague, the delegation met with:

• His Excellency Bohuslav Sobotka, Prime Minister;
• His Excellency Milan Štĕch, President of the Senate;
• His Excellency Jan Hamáček, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies;
• Mr. Jan Mládek, Minister of Industry and Trade;
• Mr. Jaromír Jermář, Chairperson of the Committee for Education, Science, Culture, Human Rights and Petitions of the Senate.

While in Prague, the delegation had the opportunity to attend a breakfast meeting with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce where they were able discuss the many benefits of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and the business and trade climate in the Czech Republic. The delegation attended a “Friends of Canada” reception hosted by Ambassador Jelinek.

The main objectives of the visit to the Czech Republic were to continue discussions on a number of topics following President Štĕch’s visit to Canada last May, including economic development, the benefits that would come with the ratification of CETA, security in the parliamentary precinct and the migration crisis. During their meeting with the Committee on Education, Science, Culture, Human Rights and Petitions, the delegation discussed how to promote educational exchanges.

View report.