CPA activities: the Canadian region.

Thirty-Fifth Regional Conference, Winnipeg

From July 27 - August 2, 1996, more than 80 legislators and observers from the Senate, the House of Commons and every provincial and territorial legislature except British Columbia gathered in Winnipeg for the annual Regional Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

Among the special guests were members of the British House of Commons, Derek Conway and Allan Rogers, Senator LeRoy Stumpf of Minnesota, Sir Colin Shepherd, Chairman of the Executive Committee of CPA, Emily Saunders, a member of the Legislative Council of the Turks and Caicos, Russell Grove, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales, and Mahbub Alam, of the CPA secretariat in London.

At the opening reception delegates were welcomed to the Conference by the Premier of Manitoba, Gary Filmon, and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Louise Dacquay. They arrived at the Legislature dressed in "Voyageur" costumes after a trip by canoe along the Assiniboia River.

The Conference was formally opened the following day by Speaker Dacquay and the Mayor of Winnipeg. The first business session focused on the Future Role of the Commonwealth and featured presentations by Krishnan Srinivasan, Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, and Sir Colin Shepherd.

The second session dealt with balanced legislation. It was chaired by Speaker Danny Gay of New Brunswick and included presentations by Lillian Ross MPP of Ontario and John Ottenheimer MHA of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The topic for the third session was Public Perceptions of Elected Office Holders. The Chairman was Speaker Allan McLean of Ontario. The panellists were Scott Edmonds of Canadian Press, Professor Trevor Anderson of the University of Manitoba and Speaker Stan Schumacher of Alberta.

Speaker Lloyd Snow of Newfoundland and Labrador chaired the next session which dealt with government sponsored gambling. Panellists were Maynard Sonntag MLA from Saskatchewan and Rose Marie MacDonald MLA of Prince Edward Island.

The fifth session dealt with proportional representation. It was chaired by Speaker Sam Gargan of the Northwest Territories. The panellists were John Mackay MLA of New Brunswick and Dennis Richards MLA, Nova Scotia.

Aboriginal Self Government was the topic of the sixth session. Eric Robinson MLA of Manitoba was the Chair and the speakers were Elijah Harper MP, James Downey, Deputy Premier of Manitoba and Phil Fontaine, Grand Chief...