NEWS RELEASE

Canada’s Parliament hosted ParlAmericas Conference on Legislative Openness

OTTAWA – On 16 and 17 October 2017, the Parliament of Canada hosted a ParlAmericas’ Open Parliament Network conference promoting legislative openness.

Parliamentarians from eight countries of the American hemisphere joined Canadian senators and members of Parliament to discuss increasing citizen participation in decision-making, making information held by public institutions open by default, and modernizing governmental accountability.

The event was timely as Canada was recently elected to a seat on the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee, a group dedicated to making all governments more open and accountable, and will take on the role of lead co-chair in 2018-19.

The two-day event included discussion panels and featured presentations made by Ms. Mary Dawson, Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, Mr. Jean-Dénis Fréchette, Parliamentary Budget Officer and Ms. Karen E. Shepherd, Commissioner of Lobbying. The Hon. Robert D. Nault, P.C., M.P., Chair of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas, served as honorary host for the gathering.

“It was an honour and a pleasure to host the Open Parliament Network conference on legislative openness here in Ottawa. As a government, we pride ourselves on our transparency and accountability, so it was an opportunity to showcase our progress to the ParlAmericas partner countries,” stated Nault.

Founded 15 years ago in Ottawa,ParlAmericas International is the only inter-parliamentary secretariat headquartered in Ottawa. Since the beginning, the Canadian section of ParlAmericas has worked closely with the ParlAmericas International and plays a key role in furthering dialogue by bringing together parliamentarians and hemispheric observers from across the Americas and the Caribbean.

To learn more, follow us on our new Twitter account:

Twitter: @ParlDiplomacy

Hashtag: #CPAM

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To arrange an interview with the Hon. Robert Nault, please contact:

Julian Morelli
613-222-6123
bob.nault.a1@parl.gc.ca

Melissa Dawe
613-996-1161
bob.nault.a2@parl.gc.ca