Visit to Canada of the Honourable Dr. Barton Scotland, O.R., C.C.H., M.P., Speaker of the National Assembly of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, and a Parliamentary Delegation
On May 28 to 31, 2018, the Honourable George J. Furey, Q.C., Speaker of the Senate, and the Honourable Geoff Regan, P.C., M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons received the Honourable Dr. Barton Scotland, O.R., C.C.H., M.P., Speaker of the National Assembly of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. The delegation was composed of the Honourable Winston Felix, M.P., Minister of Citizenship, Mr. Clement Rohee, M.P., Mr. Sherlock Isaacs, A.A., Clerk of the National Assembly, Ms. Jocette Bacchus, Clerk of Committees and Personal Assistant to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr. Ashley Hinds, IT Project Officer, Ms. Keshanna Murledhar, Assistant Clerk of Committees and Liaison Officer, and Mr. Leslie James, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Guyana Police Force. Her Excellency Clarissa Sabita Riehl, High Commissioner for the Co-operative Republic of Guyana to Canada also attended meetings in Ottawa.In Ottawa, the delegation held meetings with:
- The Honourable George J. Furey, Q.C., Speaker of the Senate;
- The Honourable Geoff Regan, P.C., M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons;
- Members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance;
- Members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts; and
- Members of the Executive Committee of the Canadian Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
The Speaker also held several meetings with Officials of the House of Commons Administrations. The visit was an opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations between the Parliaments of Guyana and Canada. Many topics were discussed during meetings, such as parliamentary procedure, the role of parliamentary committees, immigration and refugee issues, best practices concerning security and cybersecurity, as well as current challenges facing respective parliaments.
After Ottawa, the delegation visited the British Columbia Legislature in Victoria, with which they concluded an agreement in January 2017 to foster the development of inter-parliamentary co-operation. In Victoria, the delegation met with:- The Honourable Darryl Plecas, M.L.A., Speaker of the Legislative Assembly; and
- Members of the Public Accounts Committee.
The delegation also met with several officials of the Legislative Assembly. The visit helped strengthen bilateral relations between the Parliament of Guyana and the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. The discussions concerned matters of parliamentary procedure, administration, security and committees.