Visit to Canada of His Excellency Bogdan Borusewicz, Speaker of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, and a Parliamentary Delegation

From May 1 to 7, 2010, His Excellency Bodgan Borusewicz, Speaker of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, led a parliamentary delegation on an official visit to Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Windsor, at the invitation of the Speaker of the Senate, the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella. The Polish delegation was composed of His Excellency Bogdan Borusewicz, Speaker of the Senate of the Republic of Poland; Mr. Marek Borowski, Deputy, Chair, Contact with Poles Abroad Committee; Mr. Zdzisław Pupa, Senator, Chair, Environment Committee; Mr. Mariusz Witczak, Senator, Chair, Local Government and State Administration Committee; Mr. Łukasz Abgarowicz, Senator, Deputy Chair, Emigration Affairs and Contacts with Poles Abroad Committee; Mr. Andrzej Grzyb, Senator, Deputy Chair, Culture and Media Committee; and Mr. Zbigniew Cichon, Senator, Member, Human Rights, Rule of Law and Petitions Committee.

In Toronto, the delegation attended Question Period, laid a wreath at the Katyn memorial, and met with:

• The Honourable Steve Peters, M.L.A., Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

In Ottawa, the delegation had discussions with:

• The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate;
• The Honourable Peter Milliken, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons;
• The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, P.C., M.P., Minister of Foreign Affairs; and
• Mr. Greg Kerr, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs.

The members of the Polish delegation also had the opportunity to meet with:

• The Honourable George J. Furey, Senator;
• The Honourable Janis Johnson, Senator;
• The Honourable David P. Smith, Senator;
• The Honourable Terry Stratton, Senator;
• The Honourable David Tkachuk, Senator;
• Mr. Claude Bachand, M.P.;
• Mr. Blaine Calkins, M.P.;
• Ms. Bonnie Crombie, M.P.;
• Mr. Bob Dechert, M.P.;
• Mr. Andrew Kania, M.P.;
• Mr. John Weston, M.P.;
• Mr. Borys Wrzesnewskyj, M.P.; and
• Mr. Gary W. O'Brien, Clerk of the Senate.

The delegation attended Question Period in the House of Commons and was present for Speaker Borusewicz's Address to the Senate in Committee of the Whole. Speaker Borusewicz took the opportunity to present to the Parliament of Canada a replica of the Gutenberg Bible that had been kept in Canada during the Second World War.

In Winnipeg, the delegation attended Question Period and met with:

• The Honourable Philip S. Lee, Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba;
• The Honourable Greg Salinger, Premier of Manitoba; and
• Officials of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, to which it presented a collection of posters from the Solidarność movement which were used during the 1989 election campaign.

In Windsor, where the delegation had come to open the “Quo Vadis” conference for young Canadians and Americans of Polish descent, the delegation met with:

• The Honourable Jason Kenney, P.C., M.P., Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism;
• Mr. Joe Comartin, M.P.; and
• Mr. Brian Masse, M.P.

The visit provided an opportunity to cultivate bilateral relations between the two countries and allowed the delegates to meet various representatives of the federal and provincial governments in Canada. The delegation also visited a number of Polish community groups residing in Canada. A number of topics were discussed, including the global economic crisis, trade, investment and the Eastern Partnership, headed up by the European Union.

The delegates visited the Parliament of Canada and the legislative assemblies of Ontario and Manitoba, as well as the Canadian War Museum.