Visit to Canada of His Excellency Dr. Andreas Norlén, Speaker of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sweden, and a Parliamentary Delegation
From May 9 to 12, 2022, His Excellency Dr. Andreas Norlén, Speaker of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sweden, led a delegation to Ottawa and Québec City at the invitation of the Honourable George J. Furey, Q.C., Speaker of the Senate, and the Honourable Anthony Rota, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons. The delegation was composed of Ms. Maria Strömkvist, M.P., Member of the Committee on Justice and the Committee on European Union Affairs; Mr. Jörgen Berglund, M.P., Member of the Committee on Defence; Mr. Eric Palmqvist, M.P., Member of the Committee on Industry and Trade; Mr. Joar Forssell, M.P., Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs; and Mr. Ingvar Mattson, Secretary General of the Parliament of Sweden; and Ms. Helena Norlén, Spouse of the Speaker. The accompanying delegation consisted of Ms. Anna-Sara Hultgård-Czernich, International Advisor, International Department and Ms. Anna Ström, Press Officer, Office of the Speaker.
His Excellency Urban Christian Ahlin, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Canada also accompanied the delegation during their stay. Mr. Charles Gagnon, Honorary Consul General of the Kingdom of Sweden accompanied the delegation in Québec City. In Ottawa, the delegation met with:
- The Honourable Anthony Rota, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons;
- The Honourable Anita Anand, P.C., M.P., Minister of National Defence;
- The Honourable Marc Miller, P.C., M.P., Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations;
- The Honourable Senator Marc Gold, P.C., Government Representative in the Senate;
- Mr. Chris d’Entremont, M.P., Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole;
- Members of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade;
- Members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence; and
- Members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.
- The Honourable J. Michel Doyon, Lieutenant Governor of Québec;
- Mr. François Paradis, Speaker of the National Assembly of Québec;
- Mr. Joël Arseneau, MNA, Leader of the 3rd opposition group of the National Assembly of Québec; and
- Ms. Nicole Ménard, MNA, Critic for International Relations and Francophonie, and Representative of the Leader of the Official Opposition.
The members of the delegation began their visit in Ottawa with a tour of the Centre Block restoration project. While in Ottawa, they met representatives of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and Canada’s forest and mining sectors. The delegation also visited the National Defence Headquarters where they received a briefing session from senior National Defence personnel.
In Québec City, the delegation met with forestry professors from Laval University and experts from Québec’s forestry sector. The delegation also met with representatives of the Ministry of International Relations (Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie) and visited members of 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group at the Citadelle of Québec and at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier.
The goal of this visit was to provide an opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation between the parliaments of Sweden and Canada and to discuss, among other topics, defence policy and the benefits of NATO; Canadian federalism; and Canadian forestry and mining sectors. During the meetings, participants highlighted the similarities between our political systems, our common values, particularly at the international level, and the importance of parliamentary diplomacy.