Report

From September 29, 2025, to October 3, 2025, the Canada–Europe Parliamentary Association (CAEU) sent a delegation of five parliamentarians to Strasbourg, France, to participate in the fourth part of the 2025 Ordinary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE, or the Assembly). The delegates were:

• Lianne Rood, M.P., Vice-President of CAEU and Head of Delegation;

• Lisa Hepfner, M.P.;

• Angelo Iacono, M.P.;

• Shelby Kramp-Neuman, M.P.; and

• Jamie Schmale, M.P.

The delegation was accompanied by Julie-Anne Macdonald, the association’s secretary, and Anne-Marie Therrien-Tremblay, advisor.

A. Overview of the Fourth Part of the 2025 Ordinary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

The PACE session included plenary sittings and committee meetings. During the plenary sittings, a range of reports, resolutions and other questions were debated. Specifically, the Assembly held the following debates:

• Progress report of the Bureau and the Standing Committee;

• Observation of the parliamentary elections in Poland (18 May and 1 June 2025);

• Democracy, rule of law and inclusive dialogue in Türkiye;

• The Parliamentary Assembly should support Kazakhstan to continue its democratic reforms;

• The honouring of membership obligations to the Council of Europe by Hungary;

• Journalists matter: the need to step up efforts to liberate Ukrainian journalists held in captivity by the Russian Federation;

• Youth movements for democracy;

• Draft convention establishing an international claims commission for Ukraine;

• Post-monitoring dialogue with Bulgaria;

• Russian democratic forces;

• Russia: new threats to European democracies;

• Urgent call to put an end to the devastating humanitarian catastrophe and the killing of journalists in Gaza;

• Uphold democracy and the rule of law in Georgia;

• Political parties and democracy;

• Draft Council of Europe Convention on the co-production of audiovisual works in the form of series;

• Analysis and guidelines to guarantee the right to housing;

• Promoting universal health coverage;

• Artificial intelligence and migration;

• Sexual violence against men and boys; and

• Ensuring Parliamentary Assembly members can travel freely to carry out their work.

The Assembly also heard a statement by the President of PACE, Theodoros Rousopoulos, and an intervention by Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, which was followed by a question-and-answer period. As well, the following speakers addressed the Assembly:

• Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia;

• Ian Borg, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism of Malta, President of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers; and

• Myriam Spiteri Debono, President of Malta.

The Assembly held a ceremony for the 2025 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, which honours civil society action in defence of human rights.[1] The prize was awarded to Maksym Butkevych, Ukrainian journalist and human rights activist.

B. Canadian Interventions in Debates

Two Canadian delegates participated in PACE debates. They made four interventions during debates that took place on October 1, 2025 and October 2, 2025, and tabled five speeches in writing. The texts of the delegates’ speeches are available on the PACE website.[2]

1. Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Ms. Hepfner and Mr. Schmale submitted speeches in writing for the debate on “Journalists matter: the need to step up efforts to liberate Ukrainian journalists held in captivity by the Russian Federation.”

Ms. Kramp-Neuman spoke in the debate on “Youth movements for democracy,” underlining the youth’s role in defending and shaping democracy and noting that young people’s participation in politics takes many forms. Mr. Iacono and Ms. Rood submitted speeches in writing.

2. Thursday, October 2, 2025

Ms. Kramp-Neuman spoke in the debate on urgent procedure “Russia: New threats to European democracies,” expressing concerns for Russia’s violations of European airspace and urging unwavering support for Ukraine.

Ms. Kramp-Neuman spoke in the debate on “Political parties and democracy,” stressing the role of political parties in building citizens’ trust in democracy.

During a joint debate, Ms. Rood spoke in the debate on “Promoting universal health coverage,” noting Canada’s commitment to universal health care and global efforts to promote equitable access, while acknowledging domestic challenges. Mr. Iacono submitted a speech in writing for the debate on “Analysis and guidelines to guarantee the right to housing.”

C. Additional Canadian Activities During the Session

In addition to plenary sittings, members of the Canadian delegation attended other meetings as part of the PACE session.

On Monday, September 29, 2025, the delegation attended a meeting of the Sub-Committee on External Relations, under the PACE Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy (POL), at the invitation of the POL Committee Chair, Marietta Karamanli (France). During an exchange of views, Ms. Rood spoke about Canada’s engagement, as an observer state, with PACE.   

As well, on Monday, September 29, 2025, Canadian delegates attended the meeting of the Parliamentary network on the situation of the children in Ukraine, which met to discuss the topic of “militarisation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children deported to Russia and trapped in the occupied territories.”

D. Bilateral and Other Meetings

1. Briefing by Global Affairs Canada

On Monday, September 29, 2025, the Canadian delegation attended a virtual briefing by Global Affairs Canada.

In briefing the delegation, Isabelle Poupart, Director General for European Affairs, spoke about recent positive developments in Canada–European Union (EU) relations. She highlighted the outcomes of the June 2025 Canada–EU Summit, including the adoption of the “New EU-Canada Strategic Partnership of the Future” and a security and defence partnership. She emphasized the importance of trade diversification and cooperation on security and defence for Canada’s relations with the EU. Concerning trade, Ms. Poupart spoke about the economic benefits of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).[3] In providing an update on CETA’s ratification, she explained that 10 of the 27 EU member states have not ratified the agreement. Ms. Poupart also underscored that Ireland aims to ratify CETA by 2026 and that progress is expected in other EU member states.

In discussing security and defence cooperation, Eric Laporte, Executive Director for Defence and Security Relations, spoke about recent developments relating to Russia’s war in Ukraine. He provided an update on the limited progress of the peace negotiations and noted that constructive dialogue seems unlikely with Russia intensifying large-scale bombardments in Ukraine. He pointed to Canada’s engagement with the “Coalition of the Willing,” which aims to give security guarantees to prevent renewed aggression. As well, Mr. Laporte recalled the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Agreement on Security Cooperation between Canada and Ukraine.[4]

Jocelyn Kinnear, Director General of the Ukraine Task Force, shared information on Canada’s coordinated efforts to support Ukraine through the Ukraine Task Force. She spoke about Ukraine’s urgent need for financial aid and the challenges remaining to ensure the repurposing of frozen assets belonging to sanctioned Russian individuals and entities to provide support for Ukraine’s budget and military financial needs. She underscored Canada’s efforts in support of Ukraine within international organizations and initiatives, such as the Group of Seven (G7) and the International Coalition for the Return of Abducted Ukrainian Children.

1. Meeting with Theodoros Rousopoulos, President of PACE

On Tuesday, September 30, 2025, the Canadian delegation met with the President of PACE, Theodoros Rousopoulos, to discuss Canada–PACE relations.

President Rousopoulos emphasized the importance of journalist safety, which was a strong focus of the PACE session, noting that this theme guided the selection of the candidates for the 2025 Václav Havel Prize. He commented on the difficulties in engaging certain Council of Europe member states on human rights commitments and highlighted concerns about democratic backsliding.

As well, President Rousopoulos welcomed Canada’s active participation in PACE. The Canadian delegation also discussed a range of other topics, such as Canada–EU relations and the critical role of parliamentary diplomacy.

3. Meeting with Ukraine’s Delegation to PACE

On Thursday, October 2, 2025, the Canadian delegation met with two members of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE: Serhii Soboliev, first vice-chair of the delegation, and Yuriy Kamelchuk.

Mr. Soboliev emphasized that the conflict has evolved significantly since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, shifting from conventional warfare to intensive drone and missile attacks. He reported that Ukraine controls the Black Sea corridor with allied support, enabling greater capacity to import and export merchandise than under previous arrangements with Russia. On the front line, the situation remains largely static, but the scale of aerial attacks has increased, creating urgent needs for anti-drone systems and long-range weapons. Mr. Soboliev raised grave concerns regarding nuclear safety, citing the precarious situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

Mr. Kamelchuk expressed gratitude for Canada’s support for Ukraine, noting the $2 billion in military aid announced during Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Ukraine in August 2025 and Chrystia Freeland’s appointment as Canadian special representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine. He mentioned international initiatives to support Ukraine, including efforts to repurpose frozen Russian assets and the work of the Council of Europe to establish the International Claims Commission for Ukraine to allow compensation for damage, loss or injury caused by Russia. The Ukrainian delegation also discussed Canada’s leadership in the coalition to return abducted Ukrainian children, emphasizing the importance of Canada’s support for complex rescue operations.

The meeting concluded with discussions on a range of issues, including the support of Ukraine’s defence industry, improvements to its social infrastructure such as underground schools to ensure education near front-line areas, efforts to advance demining, and measures to reduce European countries’ reliance on Russian energy.

Travel Expenses

Travel expenses associated with this activity can be found in the delegation’s financial report. This report is available in the Financial Disclosure section of the Parliamentary Diplomacy website.

Respectfully submitted,

James Maloney, M.P.
President, Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association