Visit to Canada of Dame Rosemary Butler AM, Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales, and a Parliamentary Delegation

From October 25 to November 1, 2014, Dame Rosemary Butler AM, Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales, led a parliamentary delegation to Ottawa, Fredericton and Toronto at the invitation of the Honorable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate, and the Honorable Andrew Scheer, Speaker of the House of Commons. The delegation was composed of Mrs. Sandy Mewies AM, Assembly Commissioner, Mr. Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM, Assembly Commissioner, Mr. Peter Black AM, Assembly Commissioner and Mr. Al Davies, International Relations Team Manager.

In Ottawa, the delegation held meetings with:

• The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate;
• The Honourable Andrew Scheer, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons;
• The Honourable K. Kellie Leitch, P.C., M.P., Minister of Status of Women;
• The Honourable Hélène LeBlanc, Chair of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, and members of the Standing Committee;
• Several Senators and MPs on the occasion of an official dinner hosted by Speaker Kinsella and a luncheon hosted by Mr. Devinder Shory, M.P., Vice-Chair of the Canada-United Kingdom Inter‑Parliamentary Association;
• Mr. Gary W. O’Brien, Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments;
• Mr. André Gagnon, Acting Deputy Clerk of the House of Commons;
• Ms. Heather Lank, Principal Clerk, Committees Directorate, Senate of Canada and Mr. Jeffrey Leblanc, Principal Clerk, Committees and Legislative Services Directorate, House of Commons;
• Ms. Brigitte Desjardins, Director, Senate Real Property Planning Directorate, Senate of Canada; and
• Mr. Benoit Morin, Director of Public Education Program, Library of Parliament, and Ms. June Dewetering, Chief, Macroeconomics and Trade, Library of Parliament.

While in Fredericton, the delegation visited the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick and had the opportunity to meet with the Honourable Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau, Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, the Honourable Chris Collins, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and Ms. Katherine d’Entremont, Language Commissioner of New Brunswick. The delegation also met with senior officials of the Legislative Assembly. In addition, the delegation toured St. Thomas University and met with Dr. Tom Bateman and some students.

The visit of the Welsh delegation served to strengthen bilateral relations between Canada and Wales. The delegation was particularly interested in the use of official languages within the Senate and the House of Commons, e-democracy and citizen engagement, as well as Canadian expertise in gender equality and promotion of Women in democracy.