NEWS RELEASE

Canadian Parliamentarians meet with State Legislators from the U.S. Eastern States

From 5–8 August 2018, Senator Michael L. MacDonald, Co-Chair, led a delegation from the Canadian Section of the Canada–United States Inter-Parliamentary Group to the annual meeting of the Council of States Governments’ Eastern Regional Conference (ERC) in Rye Brook, New York. The other members of the delegation were Mr. Kerry Diotte, M.P., Vice-Chair, and Mr. Chandra Arya, M.P.

“The Canada–U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group’s Canadian Section always looks forward to attending the ERC’s annual meeting, which brings together legislators from the eastern region of Canada and the United States to study issues of common interest and concern,” said Senator MacDonald. “Certainly, Canadian legislators value the honest and solution-oriented discussions that occur with their U.S. counterparts.”

Mr. Diotte concluded: “Again this year, the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations were discussed during two policy sessions held by the Canada–U.S. Relations Committee. The open dialogue among Canadian and American legislators that characterizes the ERC’s annual meeting is invaluable as we work together in what some call the ‘North American space’.”

The ERC is a regional association of state legislators from 11 states in the U.S. northeast and five Eastern Canadian provinces. By facilitating cooperation among its member jurisdictions, the ERC promotes multi-state or region-wide solutions to the problems and challenges facing state and provincial legislators. Information on the ERC is available at www.csg-erc.org.

The views expressed in this news release are specific to the Canadian Section of the Canada–United States IPG. For this reason, they may not reflect the views of U.S. counterparts.

The Canada–United States IPG aims to find points of convergence in respective national policies, to initiate dialogue on points of divergence, to encourage the exchange of information and to promote better understanding among legislators on shared issues of concern. Additional information on the IPG can be found at www.parl.gc.ca/iia/us.

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For further information:

Hon. Michael L. MacDonald, Senator, Co-Chair
Canada–U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group - 613-995-1866

Hon. Wayne Easter, P.C., M.P., Co-Chair
Canada–U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group - 613-992-2406

Ms. Miriam Burke, Association Secretary
Canada–U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group - 613-944-4238