Visit of the Honourable Greg Fergus, P.C., M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons, Jamaica, Grenada, and Barbados

 

From March 3 to 7, 2025, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Honourable Greg Fergus, P.C., M.P., undertook a working visit to Jamaica, Grenada and the Republic of Barbados. Accompanying the Speaker was Anthony Carricato, Director of Operations and International Affairs, Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons, and Karine Déquier, Secretary to the delegation.

In Kingston, Jamaica, the Speaker met with the following officials:

• The Most Honourable Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica;
• The Most Honourable Juliet Holness, Speaker of the House of Representatives;
• The Honourable Justice Bryan Sykes, Chief Justice of Jamaica;
• The Honourable Delroy Chuck, Minister of Justice of Jamaica;
• The Honourable Marlene Malahoo Forte, Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs of Jamaica;
• The Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica;
• The Honourable Mark Golding, Leader of the Opposition in Jamaica;
• The Honourable Phillip Paulwell, Shadow Minister of Energy and Climate Change;
• The Honourable Heroy Clarke, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives; and
• Coleen Lowe, Clerk to the Houses of Parliament.

The Speaker also had the opportunity to engage with youth leaders and students from the University of the West Indies to discuss the future of Parliament and also held a separate discussion with senior officials of the University.

In St George’s, Grenada, the Speaker met with the following officials:

• The Honourable Dickon Amiss Thomas Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada;
• The Honourable Dr. Dessima D. Williams, President of the Senate of Grenada;
• The Honourable Leo Cato, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Grenada; and
• Andrew Augustine, Clerk of Parliament of the Houses of Parliament Grenada.

In addition to the official meetings, He also met with participants from the Young Women in Leadership Program and participated in a dialogue with participants of the Build Back Equal Project, which highlighted the contributions of women entrepreneurs benefitting from the program. Additionally, the Speaker toured the Grenada Planned Parenthood Association facility and engaged in a dialogue with youth on sexual and reproductive health rights.

In Bridgetown, Barbados, the Speaker met with the following officials:

• His Honourable Arthur Holder, Speaker of the House of Assembly of Barbados; and
• The Honourable Kerrie Symmonds, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and Senior Minister coordinating the Productive Sector.

The Speaker also participated in a roundtable discussion with participants of the Diplomat for a Day 2025 event, where he shared insights about his role as Speaker and engaged with young leaders.

The purpose of the visit to Jamaica, Grenada, and the Republic of Barbados was to strengthen bilateral and parliamentary relations with these countries, enhance trade and investment ties, explore opportunities for increased collaboration between educational institutions, and deepen people-to-people connections to advance Canada’s objectives under the Canada-CARICOM Strategic Partnership.

The report will be available once it has been tabled in the House of Commons.