Interparliamentary Activities and Reports

On 30 October 2020, members of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas and of the diplomatic community representing the countries of Latin America held a virtual reception to recognize Latin American Heritage Month and to celebrate the contributions that members of Latin American communities have made to Canada.

Mr. Marc Serré, M.P., Chair of ParlAmericas’ Canadian Section, and Her Excellency Sofia Lastenia Cerrato Rodriguez, Ambassador of Honduras to Canada and Dean of the Latin America Group of Ambassadors, co-hosted the reception. Others attending from the Canadian Section were Senator Rosa Galvez, Vice-Chair of the Canadian Section and Vice-President (North America) of ParlAmericas' Parliamentary Network on Climate Change (PNCC), Ms. Julie Dzerowicz, M.P., Vice-Chair of the Canadian Section, Mr. Stéphane Bergeron, M.P., Ms. Stephanie Kusie, M.P., Ms. Soraya Martinez Ferrada and Mr. Robert Oliphant, M.P., all of whom made remarks to the participants.

Representatives of the following countries attended the reception: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Peru.

Mr. Serré outlined some of the activities in which the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas has been involved since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Senator Galvez highlighted that the pandemic has affected people differently, depending on such factors as age, gender and sector of employment. Some foreign participants expressed their gratitude for Canadian parliamentarians’ efforts to support their countries during the pandemic. Others discussed the strong ties between Canada and the countries in the western hemisphere, and said that they look forward to future opportunities to gather and to get to know each other better, ideally in person.

The Honourable David McGuinty, P.C., M.P., President of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (UIPU), led a delegation of parliamentarians composed of the Honourable Salma Ataullahjan, Senator, the Honourable Rob Black, Senator, the Honourable Kim Pate, Senator, Hon. Steven Blaney, M.P., Ms. Marilène Gill, M.P., Ms. Lindsay Mathyssen, M.P. and Mr. Sven Spengemann, M.P.

Members heard from the candidates for the chair of the 12+ Group and proceeded to vote in a virtual secret ballot election. Ms. Arda Gerkens from the Netherlands was elected Chair of the Group for a two-year term. The Group also reviewed proposals for future Group activities, examined the financial situation of the Group and discussed matters that will be on the agenda of the upcoming session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Governing Council. During the meeting, the Honourable David McGuinty, who is also the 12+ Group's IPU Executive Committee Vice-President, reported on the proceedings at the Executive Committee.

The 12+ Group is a collective of 47 IPU member states that caucus together to discuss key issues that will be presented to the Governing Council of the IPU, the Union’s main administrative and policy-making body.

The Honourable David McGuinty, P.C., M.P., President of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (UIPU) and the Union interparlementaire (UIP) Executive Committee Vice-President for the Twelve Plus geopolitical Group (12+), the Honourable Salma Ataullahjan, Senator and President of the IPU Committee on Middle East Questions and Sven Spengemann, M.P. and member of the Bureau of the IPU Committee on Democracy and Human Rights, participated in a Steering Committee meeting of the 12+ Group on October 26, 2020. The members in attendance reviewed and approved the report of candidacies for the chairmanship of the Group.

The 12+ Group is a collective of 47 IPU member states that caucus together to discuss key issues that will be presented to the Governing Council of the IPU, the Union’s main administrative and policy-making body.

On October 26, 2020, Hon. John McKay, M.P., Chair; the Hon. Leo Housakos, Senator; Mr. Greg Fergus, M.P.; Mr. Matt Jeneroux, M.P.; Ms. Marie-France Lalonde, M.P.; Mr. James Maloney, M.P.; Ms. Christine Normandin, M.P.; and Mr. Francesco Sorbara, M.P. met virtually with Mrs. Janice Charrette, High Commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. High Commissioner Charrette provided RUUK members with a detailed overview of current issues of importance to the United Kingdom (U.K.) including Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic and the relationships between Westminster and the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Attention was then turned to Canada-U.K. trade and areas of Canada-U.K. cooperation, including international assistance and scientific research. The session concluded with a question and answer period where members further explored these and other issues.

On 20 October 2020, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU )hosted a virtual briefing for parliamentarians on “UN processes: Sustainable Development Goal 1 (SDG 1) and the UN definition of poverty.” Presenters included former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Philip Alston, Dr. George Gray Molina from the United Nations Development Programme and Barbara Adams, President of the Global Policy Forum. The panelists presented a critical analysis of how global poverty is being measured by the UN, World Bank and other international policymakers. Discussion also included an evaluation of the state of poverty alleviation around the world, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the steps necessary to make the achievement of SDG 1 – “End poverty in all its forms everywhere” – a reality. The Honourable Kim Pate, Senator, joined the discussion, asking how international poverty reduction efforts can be made relevant to domestic reform initiatives in high-income countries like Canada and whether there were studies which estimated the cost of poverty on economies around the world.