Press Releases

Commonwealth Parliamentarians from across the CPA membership have looked at the challenges and solutions to strengthening democracy at the 14th CPA Canadian Parliamentary Seminar held in Ottawa, Canada from 15 to 21 October 2017. The annual seminar, organised by the CPA Canada Federal Branch, saw the participation of over twenty-five delegates from eight of the nine regions of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).

Delegates were welcomed by Hon. Yasmin Ratansi, MP, Chair of the CPA Canada Federal Branch and Canada Federal Member of Parliament who said: “Many of you have travelled great distances to be here and we are grateful for your participation. It is a privilege to gather with our friends from across the Commonwealth in order to promote democratic governance and to support greater understanding of parliamentary systems. For 14 years, the annual CPA Canadian Parliamentary Seminar has proven to be a forum that encourages collaboration. In working together to build an informed parliamentary community, we are, at the same time, building goodwill among our countries.”

The 14th CPA Canadian Parliamentary Seminar is an opportunity to share good practice with Members on key issues such as the importance of the CPA Codes of Conduct as a tool to help address the trust deficit in Parliaments; the importance of gender equality in parliament; and the essential role that an effective Committee can play. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Headquarters Secretariat assisted in the funding of the seminar.

The CPA Branches attending the 14th CPA Canadian Parliamentary Seminar were: Zambia; Northern Territory; South Australia; New South Wales; Scotland; Wales; Newfoundland and Labrador; New Brunswick; Canada Federal; Tamil Nadu; India Union (Lok Sabha); Gujarat; Guyana; Jamaica; Saint-Lucia; Trinidad and Tobago; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Pakistan; Balochistan.

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