CPA activities: the Canadian scene.

Canadian Regional Conference

The 38th Canadian Regional Conference of CPA was held in Quebec City from August 7 to 13, 1999. The host of the conference was Jean-Pierre Charbonneau, President of the National Assembly. The Senate, House of Commons and every provincial and territorial legislature, except Nova Scotia where there had just been a provincial election, sent members of their respective legislative assemblies. There were also Special Observers invited from the legislatures of Great Britain and Malaysia. The International President of CPA, Hector McLean of Trinidad and Tobago and the Secretary General of the CPA, Arthur Donahoe were present as well as the CPA Regional Representative from the Caribbean Region, Theodore Aranda of Belize.

The Conference was opened by the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, Lise Thibault. Both business sessions held on the first day were led by Speaker Charboneau. The first dealt with "Parliamentary Diplomacy" the other with "The Parliamentary Conference of the Americas and Legislative Assemblies of Canada."

Sarmite Bulte, MP led discussion in a session that dealt with the role of parliamentarians in defending Canadian industries on the international scene. The fourth session, "The Commonwealth and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association", featured a presentation by Secretary-General Donahoe. Following this presentation Bill Hartley of British Columbia brought the attention of delegates to on-going human rights violations in Burma including the detention of political prisoners. He proposed a resolution similar to one he introduced in the British Columbia legislature on May 3, 1999. However as the CPA does not normally vote on resolutions it was agreed that a letter outlining the issues would be circulated to all delegates for their signature and it would then be forwarded to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lloyd Axworthy.

Linda Sloan of Alberta led discussion in the fifth session which considered the issue of whether the parliamentary form of government was still appropriate at the end of the 20th century. Peter Kormos of Ontario led a discussion on the place of independent members of assemblies. David Payne of Quebec and Senator Celine Hervieux Payette spoke on the financing of political parties and Sue Barnes led the final session on party discipline is a necessary evil.

In addition to the business session delegates were offered many examples of traditional Quebec hospitality including a boat trip on the...