Interparliamentary Activities and Reports

The Honourable David McGuinty, P.C., M.P., president of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (UIPU) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Executive Committee Vice-President for the 12+ geopolitical group, participated in an Extraordinary Session of the International Executive Committee by videoconference on June 11, 2020. During this meeting, vacancies were filled and members discussed many issues including cooperation with the UN and future IPU meetings. Further meetings will be required to complete the agenda. The Executive Committee oversees the administration of the IPU and makes recommendations to the IPU Governing Council on various matters, including applications by national parliaments or regional parliamentary assemblies wishing to join the Union.

On June 11th 2020, seven Canadian parliamentarians participated in a virtual meeting entitled “Sustainable Responses for a Post COVID-19 Economic Recovery” where four panellists spoke on how public policy and legislation could promote sustainable and inclusive post-pandemic economic recovery, particularly in the Caribbean region:

• Irwin LaRocque, Secretary General of the Caribbean Community, said that the response to the pandemic must take into account the effects of hurricane season in Caribbean countries.

• Diane Quarless, Director of the Economic Commission for the Latin American and Caribbean (ECLAC) Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean, highlighted the economic impact of the pandemic in the Caribbean, particularly on the tourism industry, which is an important source of income for many countries in the region. She also explained that the heavy indebtedness of Caribbean states, as well as their difficulty in obtaining official development assistance, foreign direct investment or concessional lending, limits the financial resources available to these countries to respond to the crisis caused by the pandemic.

• Monika Queisser, Head of the Social Policy Division of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, gave a global overview of the economic impact of COVID-19. She also shared data showing that more women than men have lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

• Therese Turner-Jones, General Manager of the Country Department Caribbean Group of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), explained that the pandemic has had a significant impact on the lives of women in the Caribbean and that women must be part of the discussions and decisions involving the response to the pandemic.

During the question period, the Honourable Rosa Galvez, Senator, Vice-Chair of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas, stressed that the way to measure economic recovery should not be based solely on GDP.

The Honourable David McGuinty, P.C.,M.P., president of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (UIPU) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Executive Committee Vice-President for the Twelve Plus geopolitical group (12+), participated in a virtual Steering Committee meeting of the 12+ on June 9, 2020. Members discussed important matters that will be on the agenda of the upcoming virtual meeting of the International Executive Committee of the IPU. The 12+ Group is a collective of 47 IPU member states that caucus together to discuss key issues that will be presented to the Governing Council of the IPU, the union’s main administrative and policy-making body.

Meeting of the APF’s Cooperation and Development Committee (COOP) Bureau – June 9, 2020 The APF’s Cooperation and Development Committee Bureau sets the agenda and decides on other administrative matters for the main committee. At the meeting, held by videoconference, the honourable Éric Forest, Senator and rapporteur of the Canadian Branch, was among the members present to discussed about the ongoing and upcoming studies of the main Commission. Senator Forest discussed the status of his draft report on the areas of international cooperation for climate change. The members also considered certain resolutions. Participants also discussed about the status of WTO international trade negotiations; rural populations; the status of resolutions adopted at the Luxembourg (2017) and Quebec City (2018) assemblies; and the status of children without identity papers in the Francophonie. Finally, the members adopted the agenda for the committee’s next meeting.

Ms. Yasmin Ratansi, M.P., Chair of the Canadian Branch, participated as a panelist in this webinar organized by the CPA UK Branch, sharing her thoughts on how MPs can continue to engage their constituents during the COVID-19 pandemic.