Interparliamentary Activities and Reports

Joël Godin, MP, chairs the Bureau of the Parliamentary Affairs Committee (PAC). The Bureau is mandated to set the agenda and decide on other administrative matters for the main committee. The members attending via videoconference discussed the progress of the work already underway and the new studies to come for the next meeting of the commission. Among other studies, the Canadian Branch proposed a new study on the organization of parliaments during the pandemic. The Bureau also discussed the management of other pandemic-related studies, including the use of using geolocation, obstacles to legislative work, and cooperative activities. Lastly, the members discussed a draft agreement with the Réseau francophone d'éthique et de déontologie parlementaires and adopted a schedule of work for its next meeting.

Meeting of the APF Crisis Committee (COVID-19) – May 17 The APF Crisis Committee, a new temporary body, met on May 17, with Francis Drouin, MP, Chair of the Canadian Branch and First Vice-President of the APF, in attendance. At this meeting, participants agreed to a crisis plan and discussed both the evolution of the pandemic in francophone countries and the measures in place to address the health, economic, social and political consequences. The committee also discussed how the APF’s various governing bodies could contribute to fighting the pandemic. Another topic the committee addressed was African debt relief, and MP Francis Drouin suggested having one of the existing APF’s committees consider this matter. The Crisis committee expressed the view that debt relief, or debt forgiveness, should help reduce inequalities and give nations the means to invest more in their health care systems. The committee also encouraged solidarity between nations. The meeting ended by highlighting the importance of resisting fear, hatred and turning inward during the pandemic.

Mr. Luc Berthold, M.P., represented Canada at an OSCE PA Web Dialogue on political and security issues entitled “COVID’s Impact on Conflicts in the OSCE region”. The webinar heard from two guests speakers: Ambassador Tuula Yrjölä, Director of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre, and Ambassador Yasar Halit Çevik, Head of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. Following their presentations, the floor was opened to dialogue, questions and answers. Mr. Berthold stressed the importance of the continued dialogue with other countries and shared Canada’s actions taken domestically and internationally facing the pandemic. Mr. Berthold reminded his peers that the conflicts facing many countries have been accentuated with the pandemic and continue needing our attention despite the current international health crisis.

Senator Peter M. Boehm participated in a webinar organized by the OSCE PA entitled “Respecting Human Rights and Maintaining Democratic Control during States of Emergency". Following opening remarks by Ms. Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and Mr. Michael Abramowitz, President of Freedom House, Senator Boehm took the floor and shared the Canadian experience on maintaining democratic control and upholding human rights in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On May 8th 2020, the Honourable Rosa Galvez, Senator, Vice-Chair of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas, participated in a virtual meeting in Spanish entitled “Legislative Actions for the Prevention of Violence against Women during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Four panellists spoke at the meeting:

• Yeliz Osman, Policy Specialist on Ending Violence Against Women at the UN Women Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, noted that it is too soon to reach conclusions on the impact of COVID-19 on violence against women, but emerging figures seem to indicate that it has increased during the pandemic. She explained that many countries in the Americas and the Caribbean recorded a 30-90% increase in calls to helplines for violence against women during the pandemic.

• Karina Arteaga, a member of the National Assembly of Ecuador, told parliamentarians in attendance about measures taken in Ecuador to counteract the high rates of gender-based violence. For example, the public prosecutor’s office activated an online service for victims of violence.

• Member of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies Marcela Sabat noted that government measures in Chile are aimed at expanding the capacity to receive complaints by offering the option of filing a complaint through WhatsApp or a web chat. Ms. Sabat said that women without access to the Internet or a smart phone can use the code phrase “Mascarilla 19” [Mask 19] to discreetly report violence during a visit to a pharmacy.

• Mexican Senator Verónica Camino indicated that Mexico has several legal instruments to prevent, address, punish and eradicate violence against women. She emphasized the importance of collecting and consulting data on violence against women to inform decision making and public policy formulation.

On May 8th, 2020, Mr. Marc Serré – Chair of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas – participated in a webinar hosted by the Open Parliament e-Network, a global consortium comprising numerous international organizations, including ParlAmericas. The webinar’s topic was “Parliaments and Pandemics: Going virtual and staying open in the COVID-19 era.”

Other organizations participating in the webinar included Directorio Legislativo, the National Democratic Institute, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the Latin American Network for Legislative Transparency and Parliamentary Network Africa.

Discussions during the webinar focused on the importance of legislatures remaining open and transparent during a global crisis. Participants spoke about how keeping the public informed helps legislators fulfill their representation and oversight responsibilities.

MPs Karen McCrimmon and John McKay, along with Senator Pierre Dalphond, participated in this webinar at the beginning of the pandemic. This initiative was in response to the new reality of being unable to meet in person or travel to hold committee meetings and other activities normally scheduled throughout the year. The main objective of this webinar was to pool the main lessons learned at the beginning of the pandemic by NATO members in order to share best practices and innovative ideas. In addition, the NATO PA wanted to learn more about the pandemic’s impact on member countries’ defence budgets and the effects that would have on their defence and security activities in the months ahead.

Dr. Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P., attended the very first virtual meeting of the AdHoc Committee on Migration on May 6, 2020. Dr. Fry discussed how the pandemic affected the migrants and refugee situation in Canada and participated in discussions with other members of the Committee.

On May 1st 2020, Mr. Marc Serré – Chair of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas – participated in a meeting on the topic of “Virtual parliamentary sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic.” The virtual meeting was co-hosted by ParlAmericas and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA); 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, ParlAmericas Board Member and a member of CPA’s International Executive Committee – delivered closing remarks.