From January
30 to February 3, the National Assembly of Quebec hosted the APF Bureau
meeting, the Conference of Branch Chairs (America Region), the Steering
Committee of the Network of Women Parliamentarians, the Education,
Communication and Cultural Affairs Committee, and the Inter-Parliamentary
Conference on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (CIDEC). The delegation
from the Canadian Branch of the APF was made up of the Hon. Andrée Champagne,
PC, Senator, Chair of the Canadian Branch and Chair of the Conference of Branch
Chairs; the Hon. Rose-Marie Losier-Cool, Senator and Chair of the
Network of Women Parliamentarians of the APF; the Hon. Pierre De Bané,
PC, Senator, and Chair of the Parliamentary Affairs Committee of the APF; Mr. Peter
Julian, MP and Vice-Chair of the Canadian Branch; and Mr. Bernard
Généreux, MP. The delegation was accompanied by Mr. François Michaud,
Executive Branch Secretary.
In addition
to the Canadian Branch, the following branches of the APF were in attendance:
Belgium/ French Community/ Wallonia-Brussels, Benin, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso,
Cameroon, Chad, the Comoro Islands, France, Gabon, Georgia, Hungary, the canton
of Jura, Louisiana, Luxembourg, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Romania, Rwanda,
Saskatchewan, Senegal, Switzerland, the canton of Vaud, the canton of Valais,
Valle d’Aosta, Vanuatu and Vietnam.
APF
Bureau
Mr. Yvon
Vallières opened the session by welcoming members and introducing two new
members. The Parliamentary General Secretary, Mr. Jacques Legendre,
Senator (France), addressed the issue of the Greek parliament’s candidacy, as
Greece is a member of the International Organisation for La Francophonie (IOF).
The
Parliamentary Secretary General then gave his report on activities and answered
questions. The Hon. Andrée Champagne opened the debate on voluntary
contributions to the APF and the need to create a reserve fund. The idea was
well received and will be followed up on at the Kinshasa session.
Mr. André
Schneider, Deputy (France), presented the report on activities for the
Policy Committee, of which he is the Chair. The Chair of the Education,
Communication and Cultural Affairs Committee, Mr. Didier Berberat, State
Councillor (Switzerland), gave the report on activities for his committee as
well. The Hon. Pierre De Bané, Senator (Canada) and Chair of the
Parliamentary Affairs Committee, then presented that committee’s report on
activities. The Chair of the Cooperation and Development Committee, Mr. Mahama
Sawadogo, member of the National Assembly (Burkina Faso), presented his
committee’s report on activities as well.
The Chargé
de mission for the Americas Region, Mr. Jean-Marc Lalonde, Member of the
Legislative Assembly (Ontario), gave a report on activities in the Americas.
The Hon. Pierre
De Bané presented his slide show on the role of the APF in La Francophonie,
which is available online at the following address:
http://apf.francophonie.org/spip.php?article1174.
The Hon. Rose-Marie
Losier-Cool, Senator (Canada) and Chair of the Network of Women
Parliamentarians, presented the Network’s report on activities after showing a
video about the Network’s seminar in Lomé, Togo, in October 2010. She mentioned
that the Network plans to show its support for Congolese women at the
Kinshasa session. She also mentioned the scheduling conflict between the
Bureau’s socio-cultural day at the annual session and the Network’s meeting.
Her comment was well received and will be followed up on.
The Hon. Andrée
Champagne and the Hon. Pierre De Bané noted the importance of
calling for the respect of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The
resolutions are available on the APF website:
http://apf.francophonie.org/spip.php?article1419.
Mr. Didier
Berberat, Chair of the Education, Communication and Cultural Affairs
Committee, presented the draft resolutions for CIDEC.
Mr. Jacques
Legendre presented the 37th APF session, to be held in Kinshasa (Democratic
Republic of the Congo) from July 4 to 8, 2011. The Hon. Andrée Champagne
broached the subject of resolutions and started a discussion on the need for
the APF to have advance notice of these resolutions.
Mr. Jacques
Legendre then presented the interparliamentary cooperation programs that
the APF is involved in, including Noria, cooperation seminars, internships for
government employees and the youth program.
He also
talked about the electoral observation missions in countries trying to overcome
a political crisis. The Hon. Andrée Champagne spoke up to highlight the
difficulties faced by minority parliaments and suggested that, once all options
had been exhausted, it may be worth inviting former parliamentarians to
participate in these missions.
The Hon. Andrée
Champagne raised the subject of questionnaires from Committee Rapporteurs.
The Hon. Pierre De Bané raised the need for an audio-visual presentation
that would give new members to the APF a better understanding of the Assembly.
The
Conference of Branch Chairs
Mr. Yvon
Vallières, President of the National Assembly of Quebec and President of
the APF, gave the opening remarks for the Conference of Branch Chairs, which
was chaired by the Hon. Andrée Champagne. He noted the importance of the
America Region within the APF and thanked the Hon. Andrée Champagne
on behalf of the APF as a whole for her involvement in and commitment to the
APF. After adopting the agenda, the Conference heard a report from the Chargé
de mission for the America, Mr. Jean-Marc Lalonde, MLA (Ontario), on the
activities in the America Region from July 2010 to January 2011. The Hon. Andrée
Champagne presented a draft report for the Canadian Branch on culture as a
vehicle to promote La Francophonie. Mr. Jean-Marc Lalonde, Chair of the
Ontario Branch, presented his draft report on the national youth parliament.
Mr. Henri-François Gautrin, Vice-Chair of the Quebec Branch,
presented a draft report on cooperation as a means for Francophone communities
in North America to survive and develop. Mr. Eric LaFleur, Chair of the
Louisiana Branch, introduced a draft report. The Hon. Andrée Champagne
gave an update on the situation in Haiti and started a discussion on the need
for the APF to have funds set aside for special APF activities. The Conference
decided on the division of positions of responsibility in the America Region.
Steering
Committee of the Network of Women Parliamentarians of the APF
After
adopting the agenda, the Hon. Rose-Marie Losier-Cool, Network Chair,
opened the floor to Network business. The Steering Committee viewed a video
prepared by the APF Secretariat on the Network’s seminar in Togo in October
2010. The Steering Committee heard the draft report from Ms. Geneviève
Colot, Deputy (France), on violence toward women and children. Ms. Amissétou
Affo Djobo Oloude, member of the National Assembly (Benin), then gave a
follow-up report on refugee women. The Steering Committee talked about what
question to ask the General Secretary of the IOF at the 37th annual session of
the APF.
Education,
Communication and Cultural Affairs Committee of the APF
Mr. Didier
Berberat, State Councillor (Switzerland) and Chair of the Committee, gave
his report on activities. Mr. Pierre Curzi, Member of the National
Assembly (Quebec) and Committee Rapporteur, followed up on the Convention on
the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
The first
preparatory debate to CIDEC took place, on the theme “Reasons that States limit
the development of cultural policies and programs.” The Hon. Andrée
Champagne, Chair of the Canadian Branch, gave a presentation on this issue.
The second
preparatory debate to CIDEC took place, on the theme “Culture as a vehicle of
development.” Mr. Bernard Généreux, Member of Parliament (Canada), gave
a presentation on this topic.
Inter-Parliamentary
Conference on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (CIDEC)
Mr. Yvon
Vallières, Speaker of the National Assembly of Quebec and President of the
APF, opened the proceedings for CIDEC. Ms. Galia Saouma-Forero, the
UNESCO representative from the Division of Cultural Expressions and Creative
Industries; Mr. Abdou Diouf, General Secretary of the International
Organisation of La Francophonie (IOF); Mr. Jean Charest, Premier of
Quebec; and Mr. Régis Labeaume, Mayor of Quebec City, participated in
the opening ceremony for the Conference. The conference was attended by the
members of the APF and diplomats, as well as representatives from governments,
the arts and civil society. Its purpose was to equip parliamentarians from La
Francophonie to promote the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the
Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which is a legal instrument.
Mr. Yvon
Vallières, the host of this conference, underlined the role that the
members of La Francophonie played in developing and signing the UNESCO
convention. The final declaration can be found at the following location:
http://apf.francophonie.org/spip.php?article1423.
Respectfully submitted,
Hon. Andrée Champagne,
Senator
Chair of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la
Francophonie (APF)