Visit to Canada of His Excellency Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the National Council of the Republic of Austria, and a Delegation

 

From September 26 to 28, His Excellency Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the National Council of the Republic of Austria, led a delegation to Ottawa and Toronto at the invitation of the Honourable George J. Furey, K.C., Speaker of the Senate, and the Honourable Anthony Rota, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons. The delegation consisted of Ms. Angelika Hable, Ambassador and Head of the European Union and of International Affairs Service of the Parliament of the Republic of Austria, Mr. Florian Groder, Minister Plenipotentiary and Advisor of Foreign Affairs of the Office of the President of the National Council of the Republic of Austria and Ms. Anna Gabriel, Personal Advisor of the Office of the President of the National Council of the Republic of Austria. The accompanying delegation consisted of Mr. Tristan Pöchacker, Advisor for Legal Affairs of the Office of the President of the National Council of the Republic of Austria, Ms. Evelyn Seidler, Officer at the Department of International Affairs of the Parliament of the Republic of Austria and Mr. Johannes Zinner, Photographer of the Parliament of the Republic of Austria. Her Excellency Sylvia Meier-Kajbić, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to Canada also accompanied the delegation during their stay.

In Ottawa, the delegation met with the following officials:

• The Honourable George J. Furey, K.C., Speaker of the Senate;
• The Honourable Anthony Rota, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons;
• The Honourable Senator Marc Gold, P.C., Government Representative in the Senate
• The Honourable Senator Peter M. Boehm, Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade;
• The Honourable Senator Peter V. Harder, P.C., Deputy Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade; and
• Mr. Chris d’Entremont, M.P., Deputy Speaker and Chair of the Committee of the Whole.

In Toronto, the delegation met with the following officials:

• Her Honour the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, O.C., O.Ont., Lieutenant Governor of Ontario;
• The Honourable Ted Arnott, M.P.P., Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario; and
• The Honourable Victor Fedeli, M.P.P., Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

The delegation began their visit in Ottawa with a tour of the Centre Block restoration project. While in Ottawa, they held discussions with officials from the House of Commons and the Parliamentary Protective Service regarding security of Parliament and parliamentarians. Moreover, the delegation met with representatives of the Information Integrity Lab of the University of Ottawa.

In Toronto, the delegation also met representatives of the United Jewish Appeal of Greater Toronto.

This year marked the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and Austria. The visit served to strengthen parliamentary relations and cooperation between our countries and to discuss issues of mutual interest, such as the restoration of our parliamentary buildings, security of parliamentarians and bilateral trade opportunities. Discussions also focused on the rise of extremism and ways to counter misinformation in this digital era.