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Introduction FIPA held its 20th Executive Committee meeting in Ottawa, Canada on the evening of September 12, 2009, prior to the opening of the Sixth Plenary Meeting, at the Government Conference Centre. The meeting was chaired by FIPA President Luiz Carlos Hauly, Member of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, and attended by six other members of the Executive Committee: James Bezan, MP (Canada, representative of North America and the host country of the Sixth Plenary Meeting), Stanford Callender, MP (Trinidad and Tobago, representative of the Caribbean), Senator Ricardo García Cervantes (Mexico, representative of North America), Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette (Canada, past President of FIPA), Deputy Iván Moreira Barros (Chile, representative of South America) and Joan Purcell, President of the Senate of Grenada, who attended in replacement of Senator Ann Peters. (See Appendix A for a list of participants) The objective of the meeting was to review preparations for the 6th Plenary Meeting of FIPA, to consider draft resolutions and recommendations to be submitted by the Executive Committee to the Plenary Assembly and to review vacancies and procedures for elections to take place during the Plenary meeting. An update on the financial situation of FIPA was also provided. Opening of the Meeting and Adoption of the Agenda The Chair welcomed participants and thanked Canadian Member of Parliament James Bezan for hosting the meeting. The draft agenda of the 20th Executive Committee meeting was then submitted for the consideration of participants, who adopted it unanimously. Approval of the Report of the 19th Executive Committee Meeting The report of the 19th FIPA Executive Committee meeting, which had taken place on June 24, 2009, in Washington, D.C., was reviewed and approved. Update on Preparations for the 6th Plenary Meeting Members were invited to review the final program and draft agenda of the Sixth Plenary Meeting and the list of participating countries and delegates. Grenadian representative Joan Purcell and Mexican Senator Ricardo García Cervantes took the floor to present the agendas of their respective working groups. Former FIPA President Céline Hervieux-Payette presented the agenda of the Fifth Meeting of the Group of Women Parliamentarians, explaining that she had accepted to chair that meeting in replacement of the Women’s Group President – absent due to other political commitments. Participants expressed their satisfaction regarding the program’s quality and the high relevance of issues to be addressed. Draft Resolutions and Recommendations to be Presented by the Executive Committee Following up on what had been agreed upon at the last meeting, the Chair invited delegates to consider the draft resolution and draft recommendations to be submitted to the Plenary Assembly on behalf of the FIPA Executive Committee. The Draft resolution “Amendment to Article 6.1 of the FIPA Regulations on the Composition of the Executive Committee” and the Draft Recommendation “Outcome of the Special Parliamentary Dialogue held prior to the 5th Summit of the Americas” were adopted by the Executive Committee without discussion. Members then discussed the Draft recommendation on the Influenza A (H1N1) Pandemics, presented by the Mexican delegate. Member agreed on the importance of making a strong statement of solidarity and cooperation on this major health issue. However, given the lack of clarity in the information circulated through the media on the (H1N1) Pandemic, they decided to keep the possibility of re-opening the draft recommendation until the Pan-American Health Organization/World Health Organization expert invited as guest speaker to the Plenary Meeting could address their concerns. Elections to take place during the 6th Plenary Meeting Members were invited to review the procedures for elections and FIPA Executive Committee positions becoming vacant. In their discussion, they insisted on the importance of electing Executive Committee representatives strongly committed to strengthening the Forum and, equally important, of selecting a host country firmly committed to hosting the next plenary meeting in 2010. Update on the financial situation of FIPA The Executive Secretary presented FIPA’s provisional financial report for the October 1, 2008- June 30, 2009 period and reported on the status of regular fees received from member parliaments. The representative of Canada then informed participants that the proposal submitted by FIPA and the Parliamentary Centre of Canada to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for the provision of five-year funding for FIPA activities had finally received CIDA’s approval. Members applauded this new development. Discussion on the issue of regular fees for observers Following up on the discussion held at the last Executive Committee meeting, the representative of Mexico presented the result of his research on fees charged by various parliamentary organizations to observers. He noted that most organizations do not have a regular fee for observers but accept voluntary contributions. After discussing the available options, members decided by consensus that, instead of having a regular fee, observer countries who wish to attend the annual Plenary meeting would be asked to pay a registration fee per participant. The Mexican representative informed participants that the Mexican Senate would hold the next FIPA trade workshop March 11-13, 2010. Outgoing Executive Committee and Technical Secretariat representatives took the floor to say a few words on the opportunity of their last meeting. They were warmly thanked for their contribution to FIPA. No other issue having been raised, the Chair declared the 20th FIPA Executive Committee Meeting closed.
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