Visit to Canada of His Excellency Víctor Alcides Bogado González, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Paraguay, and a Parliamentary Delegation

From October 3 to 6, 2006, His Excellency Víctor Alcides Bogado González, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Paraguay, led a delegation of Members of the Chamber of Deputies on an official visit to Ottawa and Québec at the invitation of the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Honourable Peter Milliken. The delegation was composed of Mr. Juan Darío Monges, Deputy, Mr. Eduardo Nery Huerta, Deputy and Mr. Juan Bartolomé Ramírez, Deputy.

In Ottawa, the delegation held meetings with:

• The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate;
• The Honourable Peter Milliken, Speaker of the House of Commons;
• The Honourable Chuck Strahl, P.C., Minister of Agriculture;
• The Honourable Dan Hays, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate;
• Mr. Gilles Duceppe, Leader of the Bloc Québécois;
• The Honourable Bill Graham, P.C., Leader of the Official Opposition;
• Ms. Suzanne Laporte, Vice-President of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA); and
• The Honourable Vic Toews, P.C., Minister of Justice.

In Québec, the delegation held meetings with:

• The Honourable Lise Thibault, Lieutenant-Governor;
• Mr. Michel Bissonnet, President of the National Assembly;
• Mr. Richard Lacasse, Americas Director, Société de coopération pour le développement international (SOCODEVI); and
• Mr. Yves Poulin, Director of International Cooperation, École nationale d’administration publique.

The purpose of this visit was to strengthen bilateral relations between Canada and Paraguay and the parliaments of both countries. This was an historic visit for Paraguay, as this was the first delegation from the Congress of Paraguay to participate in a parliamentary exchange with Canada. Both the Paraguayan delegation and their Canadian hosts felt that this exchange afforded an opportunity for both countries to learn more about one another and to forge closer ties.

The Paraguayan delegation expressed its interest in learning more about the parliamentary system in Canada and took the opportunity of raising this subject with several parliamentarians. The delegates also expressed an interest in creating a friendship group with their Canadian counterparts. In numerous meetings, discussions surrounded an important link between Canada and Paraguay – the 9,000 Mennonites living in Paraguay who hold Canadian citizenship. President Bogado and his colleagues underlined the significant role these Canadian Mennonites play in Paraguay’s agricultural sector.

Minister Strahl and the delegates discussed bilateral agricultural trade, with particular emphasis on Canada’s desire to receive more information about Paraguay’s technical and health and safety standards for agricultural products. Paraguay recognizes the importance of having internationally recognized credentials and is working on the certification process. In their meeting with Minister Toews, the delegates questioned the minister on the functioning of Canada’s justice and correctional systems, as Paraguay is currently undergoing a series of reforms in this area.

On several occasions, the delegation and the ambassador raised the issue of Canadian cooperation and development projects in Paraguay. The delegation had the opportunity to discuss current and future projects both with representatives from CIDA and also with two non-governmental organizations in Québec City.

In their meeting President Bissonnet, the delegates discussed Paraguay and Quebec’s engagement in the Parliamentary Confederation of the Americas (COPA). Throughout the visit, talks focused on the need for Paraguay and Canada to learn more about one another and to forge greater links between the two countries.