NEWS RELEASE

Canadian Delegation at centre stage of the 30^th Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly held in Vancouver

Led by the Honourable Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P., a delegation of Senators and Members of Parliament will represent Canada at the 30^th Annual Session of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) from June 30 to July 4 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The delegation will be joined by the Speaker of the Senate, the Honourable Raymonde Gagné, and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, Mr. Chris d’Entremont, both of whom will address participants in the Opening Plenary and hold meetings with their foreign counterparts and visiting heads of delegations.

This year’s session, held under the theme, “Strengthening Regional Security by Fostering Democratic and Inclusive Societies: The Role of the OSCE PA,” will be the first time Canada has hosted the OSCE PA in over a decade. Canada previously hosted the OSCE PA’s 2008 Autumn Meeting in Toronto and its 1995 Annual Session in Ottawa.

During the Annual Session, the hundreds of international delegates gathered in Vancouver will meet in committees and plenary sessions to debate issues and resolutions on topics including Russia’s war against Ukraine, environmental threats to security, arms control, women’s economic empowerment, energy security and human rights and media freedom.

The Hon. Hedy Fry has sponsored a resolution on the gendered consequences of armed conflicts, while John Aldag, M.P. will bring forward a resolution dealing with microplastic and nanoplastic pollution. High-level government representatives are expected to address the Opening Plenary both in person and remotely, as will senior leaders from the OSCE and OSCE PA.

Programs, reports, and draft resolutions will be available on the OSCE PA website.

The Vancouver Declaration

At the conclusion of the Annual Session, the Assembly will vote on a declaration offering recommendations to the OSCE and to the governments, parliaments, and citizens of participating States concerning a range of issues relating to the security of the OSCE region.

About the OSCE PA

Established by the 1975 Helsinki Final Act as the “Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe” (CSCE), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe assumed its current form at the 1994 Budapest Summit. The OSCE PA was established in 1991 following a call made by participating States in the 1990 Charter of Paris for a New Europe. The OSCE PA’s primary purpose is to facilitate interparliamentary dialogue and international cooperation on issues facing participating States.

The OSCE PA is composed of 57 participating states from across Europe and Central Asia and also includes Canada and the United States. The OSCE also maintains relations with 11 other states from the Mediterranean area and the Asia-Pacific region, referred to as “Partners for Co-operation.”

Notes for Media

• Media wishing to attend the Annual Session are asked to return a completed accreditation form. Alternately, media may apply for onsite accreditation by presenting their press credentials to the Vancouver Convention Centre, 1055 Canada Place, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Please enter via Burrard St. and ask to be directed to the Media Registration Desk.

• Official photographs will be published daily on the OSCE PA Flickr page. Media may publish these photographs, unaltered and with attribution, for the express purpose of supplementing their reporting of the session. For all other uses, including derivative works, please contact osce2023@parl.gc.ca.

• The Annual Session will be publicly livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook.

• Incoming delegations, the OSCE PA, and the host Canadian Delegation will provide real-time news, reports, perspectives, and commentary via their various social media under the hashtag #OSCEPAVancouver23

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For further information:

Nat Parry

Head of Communications and Press

OSCE PA

Telephone: +45 60 10 81 77

Email: nat@oscepa.dk

Daniel Martineau

Communications Officer

International and Interparliamentary Affairs

Parliament of Canada

Telephone: 613-296-1218

Email: daniel.martineau@parl.gc.ca