Canadian Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CCOM)

The Canadian Branch of the CWP is administered by a steering committee that represents the views and concerns of women parliamentarians throughout Canada and develops programs to support the objectives of the CWP in the region. This committee is composed of one representative from each province and territory and one from the federal Parliament. A chair oversees its activities and represents Canada on the CWP international steering committee. Ms. Yasmin Ratansi, M.P., Chair of the Canadian Branch, sits on the CWP steering committee of the Canadian Region. A virtual meeting was held given that the regional conference has been postponed.

Attended by newly elected Members of the Anguilla House of Assembly, the Post-Election Seminar featured panelists presenting from across the Commonwealth. This seminar, which is the CPA’s longest running program, was delivered for the first time fully virtually due to travel restrictions in place during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Ms. Yasmin Ratansi, M.P., Chair of the Canadian Branch, was invited to appear on the panel. During a round table discussion, she addressed the role of committees in the Westminster parliamentary system. At another point in the seminar, she also discussed how to strengthen the voice of women in Parliament.

Canada as a whole makes up one of the regions of the CPA, and its 14 branches correspond to the provincial and territorial legislative assemblies and the federal Parliament. Within the Canadian region, legislators can take part in a wide range of exchange programs, conferences and seminars. The Canadian region also has its own publication, Canadian Parliamentary Review. The Regional Council is the decision-making body for the Canadian region. Ms. Yasmin Ratansi, M.P., Chair of the Canadian Branch, is a member of the Regional Council. A virtual meeting was held given that the regional conference has been postponed.

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.

On May 1st 2020, Ms. Yasmin Ratansi – Chair of the Canadian Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) – participated in a meeting on the topic of “Virtual parliamentary sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic.” The virtual meeting was co-hosted by CPA and ParlAmericas; it was chaired by Bahamian Senator Ranard Henfield, Vice-President (Caribbean) of ParlAmericas’ Open Parliament Network. Presiding officers, parliamentarians and clerks from 17 English-speaking legislatures in the Americas and the Caribbean participated in the meeting. Participants heard presentations by: the Honourable Juan Watterson, Speaker of the Isle of Man’s House of Keys; Luiz Fernando Bandeira de Mello, Secretary-General of the Board of Brazil’s Senate; and Matthew Hamlyn, Strategic Director of the Chamber Business Team of the United Kingdom’s House of Commons. They discussed the technical and political challenges associated with implementing virtual sittings and committee meetings in their legislatures. Jarvis Matiya, the CPA’s Acting Secretary-General, updated participants about the CPA’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the launch of the CPA Toolkit for Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures on the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic and delivering parliamentary democracy. The Honourable Bridgid Annisette-George – Speaker of Trinidad and Tobago’s House of Representatives, a member of CPA’s International Executive Committee and ParlAmericas Board Member – delivered closing remarks.

Room 325, Wellington Building

6:00 p.m.

To be eligible to vote at the AGM the deadline for membership for this association is 7 days before the meeting.

The purpose of the bilateral visits to Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados is to strengthen bonds with Commonwealth partners, in line with the Canadian Branch’s mandate to facilitate twinning between Canadian provincial-territorial legislatures and Caribbean legislatures. The delegation will discuss people-to-people ties, trade and investment, good governance and democracy, and climate change.