NEWS RELEASE

CANADIAN SECTION OF THE CANADA–U.S. IPG HOSTS MEMBERS OF THE U.S. CONGRESS

From 15–17 June 2018, members of the Canadian Section of the Canada–United States Inter-Parliamentary Group (IPG) hosted a delegation from the U.S. Congress for the IPG’s 56^th annual meeting in Ottawa, Ontario. The Canadian delegation, which was led by Senator Michael L. MacDonald and the Honourable Wayne Easter, P.C., M.P., Co-Chairs, also included Senators Marc Gold and Mobina Jaffer, Q.C., as well as Mr. Kerry Diotte, M.P., Vice-Chair, Mr. Randy Hoback, M.P., Vice-Chair, Mr. Brian Masse, M.P., Vice-Chair and Mr. Francesco Sorbara, M.P., Vice-Chair. The U.S. Senate delegation was led by Senators Mike Crapo and Amy Klobuchar, Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the U.S. Section, respectively, and also included Senator Roy Blunt. Representative Paul Cook attended from the U.S. House of Representatives.

“We were very pleased to host our U.S. Congressional counterparts for this important meeting at a very critical time in the Canada–U.S. relationship,” said Mr. Easter. “This annual opportunity to meet in order to discuss areas of opportunities and concerns, as well as to build and nurture our relationships, is instrumental in helping the IPG to achieve its goals. Certainly, Canada and the United States have a long shared history of being allies and partners, and we need to work together to resolve issues between us and to advance our joint international goals.”

Senator MacDonald concluded: “In agreeing with my colleague, I would add that our substantive discussions about cooperation on economic and financial issues, security and defence, and the environment were instructive for legislators in both countries. We were able to focus on some of our bilateral relationship’s major strengths but also – importantly – to identify areas where we must work harder together to ensure that both of our countries, and North America more generally, can prosper for the benefit of our citizens and businesses. We look forward to similar fruitful discussions in the future.”

The views expressed in this news release are specific to the Canadian Section of the Canada–United States IPG. As such, 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 can be found at www.parl.gc.ca/iia/us.

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For furthur 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