Participation of the Honourable Peter Milliken, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons, the Honourable Gerald J. Comeau, Senator, and a Parliamentary Delegation, to the XVth Canada-Mexico Interparliamentary Meeting (IPM), Mexico
From February 17 to 19, 2008, the Honourable Peter Milliken, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons, and the Honourable Senator Gerald J. Comeau, led a delegation to the XVth Canada-Mexico Interparliamentary Meeting composed of:
- The Honourable Anne C. Cools, Senator;
- The Honourable Mobina S.B. Jaffer, Senator;
- The Honourable Pierrette Ringuette, Senator;
- Mr. Pierre Lemieux, M.P.; and
- Mr. Raymond Bonin, M.P.
The visit was in reply to an invitation from the Congress of the Union of the United Mexican States.
During the meeting, the delegation met with:
From the Senate of the United Mexican States:
- His Excellency Santiago Creel Miranda, Speaker of the Senate;
- Senator Jesús María Ramón Valdes;
- Senator José Luis Lobato Campos;
- Senator Ludivina Menchaca Castellanos;
- Senator Adriana González Carrillo;
- Senator Yeidckol Polevensky Gurwitz;
- Senator Eloy Cantú;
- Senator Luis Alberto Coppola Joffroy;
- Senator Jose Luis Garcia Zaldivea;
- Senator Eva Contreras;
- Senator Humberto Aguilar Coronado;
- Senator Josefina Cota Cota; and
- Senator Mario López Valdez.
From the Chamber of Deputies of the United Mexican States:
- Her Excellency Ruth Zavaleta Salgado, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies;
- Deputy Antonio Berber Martínez;
- Deputy Marina Arvizu Rivas;
- Deputy Maria Eugenia Campos Galván;
- Deputy Javier Hernández Manzanares;
- Deputy Guadalupe García Noriega;
- Deputy Reyna Omeheira López;
- Deputy Rodolfo Solis Parga;
- Deputy Ramón Valdés Cháves;
- Deputy Irma Piñeyro Arias;
- Deputy Juan Guerra Ochoa; and
- Deputy Gilberto Ojeda Camacho.
In addition to the meeting participants, many distinguished guests were also present during the session: Her Excellency Patricia Espinoza Castellano, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Mr. Jesús Alberto Aguilar, Governor of the State of Sinaloa, and Mr. Jorge Abel López Sánchez, President of the Municipality of Mazatlán. The ambassadors of both countries, His Excellency Emilio Rafael José Goicoechea Luna, Ambassador of Mexico to Canada and Mr. Guillermo E. Rishchynski, Ambassador of Canada to Mexico, were also present.
Regular Canada-Mexico interparliamentary meetings have been held since 1975. These important gatherings enable participants to share experiences, promote dialogue and further parliamentary relations in North America. The XIVth Canada-Mexico Interparliamentary Meeting was held in Ottawa in October 2006 and proved to be a successful and productive experience where parliamentarians learned more about both the commonalities and the differences that exist between their two countries.
The objectives for the XVth Canada-Mexico Interparliamentary Meeting, held in the city of Mazatlán, in the state of Sinaloa, were to further parliamentary relations between both countries and to engage in dialogue, while focusing on four themes:
- an evaluation of the XIVth Canada-Mexico Interparliamentary Meeting;
- migration;
- hemispheric security; and
- the economy and competitiveness.