Visit to Canada of His Excellency Per Westerberg, Speaker of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sweden

From November 20 to 22, 2012, His Excellency Per Westerberg, Speaker of the Parliament (Riksdag) of the Kingdom of Sweden, led a parliamentary delegation on an official visit to Ottawa at the invitation of the Honourable Andrew Scheer, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons. During the visit, the delegation attended the official launch of an exhibit honouring Raoul Wallenberg at the Canadian War Museum. The delegation was composed of His Excellency Per Wallenberg, Ms. Kathrin Flossing, Secretary General of the Riksdag, and Ms. Sarah Everas Sidébé, Press Secretary. His Excellency Teppo Tauriainen, Sweden’s Ambassador to Canada, also accompanied the delegation.

The delegation met with:

• The Honourable Andrew Scheer, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons;
• A number of senators and MPs (including members of the Canada-Nordic-Baltic Parliamentary Friendship Group) during the official meal hosted by Speaker Scheer and during a dinner hosted by the Swedish Ambassador;
• Mr. Gerard Keddy, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade;
• Mr. Michael Ferguson, Auditor General of Canada;
• Mr. Kevin Page, Parliamentary Budget Officer;
• Mr. John Murray, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada; and
• Two senior officials from the Department of Finance.

The visit enabled the two countries to cultivate bilateral relations, better understand each other’s institutions and discuss issues of common interest, such as: the prospects for a Canada-EU free trade agreement; the global economic crisis; and the role of parliamentary officers such as the Auditor General and the Parliamentary Budget Officer. The discussions revealed a number of similarities between the two countries on issues such as free trade, the analysis of possible consequences of government overspending in the United States and in Europe (especially in France), the importance of a solid banking system and the need to strengthen the parliamentary mechanisms in place to ensure transparent and informed budget debates Speaker Westerberg described Sweden’s new foreign policy orientations and placed particular emphasis on the Arctic Council, and relations with the Baltic countries and North African countries. The visit to Ottawa also included a tour of the Canadian War Museum and the Canadian Museum of Civilization.