Canadian Section of Canada-US Inter-Parliamentary
Group Attends Winter Meeting of US Governors and Meets with US Congressional
Counterparts
From February 25-27, 2012,
the Honourable Janis Johnson, Senator, Co-Chair of the Canadian Section of the
Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group, led a delegation to the annual
winter meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA) in Washington, D.C.
The other members of the delegation for the meeting were the Honourable Wilfred
Moore, Q.C., Senator, the Honourable Wayne Easter, P.C., M.P., Vice-Chair, Mr.
Mark Alder, M.P., Mr. John Carmichael, M.P., Vice-Chair, and Mr. Mathieu
Ravignat, M.P., Vice-Chair. Following the NGA meeting, the delegation was
joined by Mr. Gord Brown, M.P., Co-Chair and Mr. Brian Masse, M.P., Vice-Chair
for about 50 meetings with members of the US Senate and House of
Representatives, including with US House of Representatives Speaker John
Boehner. Prior to the Congressional visits, the delegation benefitted from an
extensive briefing by Canada’s Ambassador to the United States, Gary Doer, and
his officials. While in Washington, the delegation also attended a number of
events hosted by the Embassy.
Senator Johnson said: “As
always, the NGA meeting provided members of the delegation with an important
chance to speak with US governors about a range of issues that affect both of
our countries. We believe it’s useful to take every available opportunity to
reinforce the nature and scope of the bilateral relationship, including the
estimated 8 million US jobs that rely on trade with Canada and the 35 states
that have Canada as their primary foreign export destination. Of course, a
number of the sessions at the meeting, including those that were focussed on
economic growth and energy as well as health care, provided information that is
relevant for legislators and citizens in both of our countries.”
“Equally, the meetings with
our Congressional counterparts provided us with a critical opportunity to speak
about the relationship between Canada and the United States. In our meetings,
we discussed such issues as the action plan relating to the February 2011
announcement by Prime Minister Harper and President Obama of the perimeter security
and economic competitiveness agenda, bilateral and international trade, the Buy
American provisions in some US legislation, the thickening of the border and
border-related fees, the sharing of both information and intelligence by law
enforcement and related agencies, and the need to avoid duplication in such
areas as inspection, among others,” said Mr. Brown.
The NGA is the collective
voice of US governors from the 50 states, three territories and two
commonwealths. It is a public policy organization that represents the
governors on Capitol Hill and before the US Administration on federal issues
that affect them, and that develops and implements solutions to public policy
challenges.
It should be noted that the
views expressed in this news release are specific to the Canadian Section of
the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group and, as such, may not
reflect the views of our United States counterparts.
The Canada-United States
Inter-Parliamentary Group 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 on the Group
can be found at: www.parl.gc.ca/iia/us.
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For further information: Hon. Janis Johnson, Senator, Co-Chair
Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group - 613-943-1430
Mr. Gord Brown, M.P., Co-Chair
Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group - 613-992-8756
Ms. Angela Crandall, Association Secretary
Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group - 613-944-4238