Visit to Canada of the Right Honourable the Baroness D’Souza CMG, Lord Speaker of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

On September 3 and 4, 2015, the Right Honourable the Baroness D’Souza CMG, Lord Speaker of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, visited Ottawa at the invitation of the Honourable Leo Housakos, Speaker of the Senate.  The Lord Speaker was accompanied by Mr. David Beamish, Clerk of the Parliaments, and Ms. Žana Paul, Assistant Head of International Relations, Overseas Office of the House of Lords.  His Excellency Howard Drake OBE, High Commissioner of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Canada, also accompanied the Lord Speaker during the visit.

While in Ottawa, the Baroness D’Souza met with:

• The Honourable Leo Housakos, Speaker of the Senate, the Honourable Claude Carignan, Senator, Leader of the Government in the Senate, and the Honourable James S. Cowan, Senator, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate;
• The Honourable David Smith, P.C., Q.C., Senator, Vice-Chair of the Canadian Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and the Honourable Raynell Andreychuk, Senator, Member of the Canadian Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association;
• Mr. Charles Robert, Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments and Chief Legislative Services Officer; Mr. Michel Patrice, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel and Chief Parliamentary Precinct Services Officer, Senate; and Ms. Nicole Proulx, Chief Corporate Services Officer and Clerk of the Standing Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration, Senate;
• Mr. Peter Feltham, Chief, Network Services, Information Services Directorate, Senate, and Ms. Dianne Taylor, Deputy Director/Senior Technology Strategist, Information Services, House of Commons; and
• Ms. Catherine MacLeod, Assistant Parliamentary Librarian, and Mr. Benoit Morin, Director, Public Education Programs, Library of Parliament

The visit to Canada provided an opportunity to strengthen the already strong bilateral relations between the two parliaments.  Discussions on both parliamentary administrations offered different perspectives on how parliaments operate.  Other discussions included parliamentary outreach programs and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.