Visit to Canada of Her Excellency Malu Dreyer, President of the Federal Council (Bundesrat) of the Federal Republic of Germany

On September 27, 2017, the Honourable George J. Furey, Q.C., Speaker of the Senate, and the Honourable Geoff Regan, P.C., M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons, received Her Excellency Malu Dreyer, President of the Federal Council (Bundesrat) of the Federal Republic of Germany, at Parliament. Her Excellency was accompanied by her spouse, Mr. Klaus Jensen, the Ambassador of the Republic of Germany to Canada, Her Excellency Sabine Sparwasser, and a delegation composed of the Secretary General of the Bundesrat, Dr. Ute Rettler, the Spokesperson of Rhineland-Palatinate's government, Ms. Andrea Bähner, and a Professor of Game Design from the University of Trier, Dr. Linda Breitlauch.

At Parliament, members of the delegation met with:

• The Honourable George J. Furey, Q.C., Speaker of the Senate; and
• The Honourable Geoff Regan, P.C., M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons.

The delegation also had the opportunity to meet several Senators and officials of the Senate Administration on the occasion of a luncheon hosted by Speaker Furey. The visit was an opportunity to bolster bilateral relations between the Parliaments of Germany and Canada, and to exchange on many topics, such as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, the refugee situation in Europe, and immigration policies. During meetings, the importance of Parliamentary diplomacy to promote progressive values was underlined. Several additional subjects were also discussed including the recent election in Germany, current challenges facing the respective parliaments and parliamentary procedure.