Interparliamentary Activities and Reports

The Conference of Branch Chairs (CBC) (Americas Region) of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF) carries out the decisions of the Regional Assembly of the Americas. These decisions all seek to encourage the promotion of the French language and francophone culture among the member branches. The CBC met by videoconference on August 3, 2021. Francis Drouin, MP, participated in this meeting as Chair of the Canadian Branch of the APF. At the meeting, Americas Region Chargé de mission Lena Metlege Diab (MLA, Nova Scotia) reported on last year’s activities and updated the members on upcoming activities. She also presented the Region’s finances. The role of the Americas Region was also discussed in the context of the APF’s international activities. Mr. Drouin expressed the hope that the Region would be more involved in these activities in the leadup to Canada’s presidency of the APF in 2022. The members also discussed the revision of the Region’s Constitution. The Branch Chairs (Americas Region) also discussed ways to help and support the Haitian Branch as a member of the APF.

The National Conference of State Legislatures is a bipartisan organization serving the legislators and legislative staff of the 50 U.S. states, as well as its commonwealths and territories. With its standing committees comprised of legislators and legislative staff, the NCSL provides research, technical assistance and a venue for the exchange of ideas on state issues.

On July 21, 2021, the Hon. David McGuinty, P.C., M.P., President of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (UIPU), participated in a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). Members of the Executive Committee were updated on the progress made towards the development of the IPU Strategy 2022–2026. They also discussed issues related to future IPU events (such as the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament and the 143rd Assembly) and internal matters related to the organization’s governance.

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 few APF member branches met to discuss the APF Opinion that will be presented to the heads of state who are attending the meeting at the upcoming Summit of La Francophonie in Djerba, Tunisia. The APF Opinion is a document of the l’Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie that provides suggested measures on a variety of issues, particularly the promotion of the French language and culture. The APF Opinion is moved, debated and adopted at the summer Annual Session that precedes the Summit of La Francophonie, which is held every two years in the fall. Marie-France Lalonde, Francis Drouin, President of the Canadian Branch, and Senator Jean Guy Dagenais attended the meeting and presented the branch’s suggested modifications to the Opinion, including a suggestion to work with local governments in order to improve access to digital infrastructure and respect the concept of social licence when deploying communication technologies. A final version of the Opinion will be submitted to the branches shortly.

On July 12, 2021, a delegation of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (UIPU) participated in the Parliamentary Forum at the United Nations High Level Political Forum on sustainable development. The Hon. David McGuinty, P.C., M.P., President of the UIPU, the Hon. Kim Pate, Senator, the Hon. Marilou McPhedran, Senator, the Hon. Salma Ataullahjan, Senator, the Hon. Rosa Galvez, Senator, and Ms. Lindsay Mathyssen, M.P., were part of the delegation.

During this event, participants discussed the role of parliamentarians and public authorities during times of crisis. They also talked about the part played by the public sector as well as the relationship between public and private actors. Participants highlighted several of the challenges the world is facing, including the global water crisis, inequity and poverty, and climate change, and contemplated how various stakeholders can work together to better address them.

During the discussion on the main theme of the event, Senator McPhedran emphasized that the sustainable development goals (SDGs) are interconnected and that SDG 5 (gender equality and women’s empowerment) complements and reinforces the other 16 goals.

From July 5 to 9, 2021, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) headquarters hosted a conference on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (industry 4.0) entitled CPA Virtual Conference:

The 4th Industrial Revolution. Each day covered a different theme and consisted of panel sessions covering different topics. Presenters included parliamentarians, academics and industry experts. The objective of the conference was to challenge participants to think about how the Commonwealth, parliaments and democracies will evolve in the next 10, 50 or even 100 years.

The conference was attended by the following members of the Canadian Branch of the CPA: The Honourable Terry M. Mercer, Senator, Mr. Terry Duguid, M.P., and Ms. Brenda Shanahan, M.P.

The themes of the conference were:

• What is the 4th Industrial Revolution?

• The 4th Industrial Revolution and Environmental Stewardship

• Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Algorithms

• Big Data and Blockchain

• Cybersecurity and the Internet of Things

During a panel session (Regulating at Speed and Scale), the Honourable Terry M. Mercer, Senator, discussed the findings of the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications’ study on automated vehicles, which were published in its 2018 report entitled Driving Change: Technology and the future of the automated vehicle.