COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION NEWS
40th CPA Canadian Regional Parliamentary Seminar in Nunavut focuses on representing indigenous peoples in Parliaments and strengthening the role of Parliamentarians Commonwealth Parliamentarians from across the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Canada Region have examined how Parliaments can reflect the indigenous peoples that they represent through their work and traditions. The workshop session was part of the 40th CPA Canadian Regional Seminar which was held in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada from 11 to 14 October 2018. The annual seminar, organised by the CPA Canada Region, saw the participation of 31 Parliamentarians from nine provinces and territories across Canada and from the Canadian Federal Parliament as well as seven parliamentary staff. Delegates were welcomed to the regional seminar by CPA Nunavut Branch President, Hon. Joe Enook, MLA, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. Speaker Joe Enook said: “It was an honour to host fellow Parliamentarians from across the nation, and I was proud that our deliberations were conducted in three languages: Inuktitut, which is one of Canada’s indigenous languages, as well as English and French. I am confident that my colleagues who were visiting the Arctic for the first time left with a greater understanding of our culture and environment.” The seminar was attended by Hon. Yasmin Ratansi, MP (Canada Federal) who said: “As Chair of the CPA Canadian Region, I attended the 40th CPA Canadian Regional Parliamentary Seminar in Iqaluit. The venue was important as Iqaluit is close to the Arctic Circle and Parliamentarians from across Canada got an opportunity to see first
hand the challenges facing the Indigenous communities. The seminar allowed us to learn from each other, share best practices and enhance our understanding and respect for the indigenous way of life.” The 40th CPA Canadian Regional Parliamentary Seminar provided an opportunity to exchange ideas amongst CPA Members on key issues and the delegates held workshops on a number of topics including: Proportional Representation and the Prince Edward Island Referendum; life for a Parliamentarian after office; the impact of social media on the work of Parliamentarians; and mental health and its impact on Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff.
CPA Small Branches Chairperson highlights trade barriers for small jurisdictions at 42nd Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organisation The Chairperson of the CPA Small Branches, Hon. Angelo Farrugia MP, Speaker of the Parliament of Malta participated in the 42nd Session of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on behalf of the CPA, which took place in Geneva, Switzerland on 5 October 2018. The Parliamentary Conference on the WTO (PCWTO) is organised jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the European Parliament, and its Steering Committee met ahead of the 2018 annual session of the PCWTO. The CPA Small Branches Chairperson proposed the enhancement of the PCWTO through the alignment of its agenda with that of the WTO Ministerial Conference, with a view to informing the WTO Ministerial Conference on the parliamentary perspective and mobilising parliamentary action. He also spoke about the participation of the PCWTO in the Commonwealth and reported on discussions that took place on trade at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) earlier this year in London. The CPA Small Branches Chairperson also highlighted the greater impact of climate change on small states as an important issue in relation to non-discriminatory, multilateral trading systems and the impact of trade processes on smaller jurisdictions.
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According to the rules of procedure for the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) is one of the international organisations represented on the Steering Committee. The following CPA Branches are also currently represented on the Steering Committee of the PCWTO: Botswana, Cameroon, India, Singapore, South Africa, and Tanzania. The Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the PCWTO is Hon. Mensah-Williams, Chairperson of the National Council of Namibia. The Steering Committee also discussed recent developments at the WTO, the follow-up to the 2017 annual session, and the forthcoming 2018 annual session of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO, due to take place in Geneva on 6 and 7 December 2018.