Over 50 Commonwealth Parliamentarians and Parliamentary Clerks discussed the challenges facing Legislatures at the 60th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Canada Regional Conference, which took place in Toronto, Ontario from 20 to 27 July 2024. Delegates were welcomed to the Regional Conference by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Hon. Ted Arnott, MPP.

The CPA Canada Regional Conference was attended by Members of the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Legislatures of the Region, as well as the Acting CPA Chairperson and Speaker of the Barbados House of Assembly, Hon. Arthur Holder, MHA, and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Victoria in Australia, Hon. Maree Edwards, MLA.

Delegates were also welcomed by the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, Her Honour Edith Dumont who spoke about the Province and its commitment to the Commonwealth.

Delegates at the CPA Canada Regional Conference attended panel sessions on a wide range of topics including:

• Artificial Intelligence in the Legislature presented by Janet Ecker of the Vector Institute;
• how to build a healthy and inclusive workplace culture with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Hon. Raj Chouhan, MLA;
• and the crisis of news media and its effects on our democracies with the Executive Director of the Dais (Toronto Metropolitan University), Karim Bardeesy and the CEO of the Inspirit Foundation, Sadia Zaman.

The Regional Conference also held discussion panels on women in political office and promoting influential roles for women with guest discussion leaders, Dr Kate Graham from Huron University College and Members from Ontario and Québec.

The CPA Secretary-General, Stephen Twigg briefed Members on the latest CPA activities and said:

“I was delighted to attend the 60th CPA Canada Regional Conference in Ontario and to hear of the innovative work that Canadian Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff are undertaking in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, creating an inclusive workplace culture and examining the role of the media in our democracies. It was interesting to hear the different perspectives from Commonwealth Parliamentarians in Canada as well as the opportunity for Members to learn from each other.”

Avni Kondhia, Programmes Manager from the CPA Headquarters also presented on the CPA’s Recommended Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures and the process of self-assessment available to CPA Branches as a method of improvement and progression.

Canadian Women Parliamentarians focus on highlighting women in leadership and entrepreneurial roles

Ahead of the CPA Canada Regional Conference, the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Canada Regional Conference also took place.

The CWP Canada Regional Chair, Hon. Susan Leblanc, MLA (Nova Scotia) chaired the Steering Committee meeting and CWP delegates engaged in sessions focusing on the theme of ‘Women in Action’.

Delegates heard from panellists such as Karen Vecchio, MP and former Chair of the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women (2017 to 2024) on women in leadership roles; Manavi Handa, a Midwife and Associate Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University and Keri Gray, Entrepreneur and founder of Shades of Gray Indigenous Pet Treats on women entrepreneurs; and Colleen James, a Councillor from the Waterloo Region on women running for election.

For further images of the 60th CPA Canada Regional Conference please click here.

The Canadian Region of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association comprises of the provinces, territories and the Federal Parliament of Canada. The Region is governed by a Regional Council which is made up of representatives from each of the Legislatures of Canada. Find out more about the CPA Canada Region.

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The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association connects, develops, promotes and supports Parliamentarians and their staff to identify benchmarks of good governance and the implementation of the enduring values of the Commonwealth. The CPA is an international community of around 180 Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures working together to deepen the Commonwealth’s commitment to the highest standards of democratic governance.

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