Visit to Canada by His Excellency Dr. Mustafa Ben Jaâfar, President of the National Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Tunisia, and a Parliamentary Delegation

From April 2 to 4, 2014, His Excellency Dr. Mustafa Ben Jaâfar, President of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) of Tunisia, led a parliamentary delegation to Ottawa at the invitation of the Honorable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate, and the Honorable Andrew Scheer, Speaker of the House of Commons. The delegation was composed of Mr. Mohamed Salah Chairat, NCA Deputy President; Mr. Sahbi Atig, President of the Ennahda party; Ms. Mabrouka Mbarek, member of the Committee on Finance, Planning and Development; Mr. Tarek Labidi, member of the Committee on Finance, Planning and Development; Ms. Rym Mahjoub Ep Masmoudi, member of the Committee on Social Affairs; Mr. Mohamed Karray Jerbi, member of the Committee on Rights, Freedoms and Foreign Affairs; Mr. Moncef Hadidane, Chief, Office of the President of the NCA; Mr. Mofdi Mseddi, Information Officer, Office of the President of the NCA; and Mr. Olivier Pierre Louveaux, UNDP Tunisia Parliamentary Development and Constitutional Support Officer. His Excellency Riadh Essid, Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia to Canada and Mr. Sébastien Beaulieu, Canada’s Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia, also accompanied the delegation.

In Ottawa, the delegation held meetings with:

• His Excellency the Right Honourable David L. Johnston, Governor General of Canada;
• The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate;
• The Honourable Andrew Scheer, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons;
• The Honourable John Baird, P.C., M.P., Minister of Foreign Affairs;
• The Honourable Raynell Andreychuk, Senator, Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and Co-Chair of the Canada–Africa Parliamentary Association;
• The Honourable Mauril Bélanger, P.C., M.P., Co-Chair of the Canada–Africa Parliamentary Association;
• Members of the Canada–Africa Parliamentary Association;
• Members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs;
• Several Senators and MPs on the occasion of an official dinner hosted by Speakers Kinsella and Scheer and at a dinner hosted by the Canada–Tunisia Friendship Group;
• Ms. Audrey O’Brien, Clerk of the House of Commons;
• Ms. Heather Lank, Principal Clerk, Committees Directorate, Senate of Canada;
• House of Commons Information Services senior officials; and
• Elections Canada senior officials.

The visit of the Tunisian parliamentary delegation was part of the political reconfiguration process in Tunisia following the adoption of the new constitution of the Republic of Tunisia in January 2014. President Ben Jaâfar presented an official copy of the constitution to Speakers Kinsella and Scheer. President Ben Jaâfar also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons outlining their commitment to parliamentary democracy and their desire to continue to encourage and strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation between the Parliament of Canada and the National Constituent Assembly of Tunisia. Speakers Kinsella and Scheer encouraged Tunisian senior officials to participate in the Parliamentary Officers’ Study Program once their electoral law had passed and elections, scheduled to take place before the end of 2014, had been held. The delegation was particularly interested in the funding of political parties and elections, the operation of Senate and House of Commons committees and the computerization of the Canadian Parliament and the transcription of debates.