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CPA Activities: The Canadian Scene

Twentieth Commonwealth Parliamentary Seminar 

A Commonwealth Parliamentary Seminar was held in Ottawa from June 8 -14, 2008. It was co-hosted by the federal branch of CPA and by the International Headquarters.

Among the topics on the agenda were:

• The Commonwealth and the Role of the CPA
• The Parliamentary and Political Scene in Canada
• The Role of the Presiding Officer, the Parliamentary Staff and the Standing Orders
• The MP and the Political Party
• Parliamentary Ethics, Transparency and Accountability
• Parliamentary Committees and the Committee System
• The Relationship Between Parliament and the People
• Financial Scrutiny of the Executive
• Parliament, the Executive and the Public Service
• Right to Information

Delegates were invited from each of the Regions of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association - Africa, Asia, Australia, the British Isles and Mediterranean, The Caribbean, India, the Pacific and South East Asia.  Canada was represented by the Canadian Regional Representative, Russ Hiebert, as well as Greg Brkich of Saskatchewan and Robert Mitchell of Prince Edward Island.

CPA Regional Conference 

The 46th Canadian Regional Conference of CPA will be held in Halifax from July 22-26, 2008. As has been the case in recent years it will be immediately preceded by a Conference of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) to be held July 21-22.

The CWP will include a meeting of the Canadian Network Steering Committee chaired by Charlotte L’Écuyer, MNA, of Quebec. It will be followed by three business sessions on topic s of particular interest to women in their role as parliamentarians.

The CPA Regional Conference will be hosted by Alfie MacLeod, Speaker of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. There will be eight business sessions consisting of presentations by federal, provincial and territorial legislators. One of the session will focus on Democracy 250:  commemorating 250 years of representative government in Canada. The presenters will be Russell G. MacLellan, Premier of Nova Scotia (1997-1999) and John F. Hamm, Premier of Nova Scotia (1999-2006).

The programme also includes opportunities for delegates to visit some on Nova Scotia’s famous places with Optional Tours available to the Annapolis Valley and Grand Pré National Historic Site, the South Shore (Lunenburg) or an afternoon of golf. All delegates will be invited to a reception Dinner and evening of Nova Scotia entertainment at Pier 21, Canada’s Immigration Museum.

Canadian Regional Council Meeting 

The Executive body of the Canadian Region consisting of the Presidents of the federal, provincial and territorial CPA branches will meet to discuss future plans for the Association. This meeting will take place on Friday July 25, 2008.

Alberta Speaker Re-elected 

On April 14, 2008, Ken Kowalski, MLA for Barrhead-Morinville- Westlock, was re-elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. He was first elected Speaker in 1997.

Speaker Kowalski, who is currently serving his ninth term as a Member of the Legislative Assembly. He was first elected to the Alberta Legislature in a 1979 by-election, and has served under four Alberta Premiers: Peter Lougheed, Don Getty, Ralph Klein and Ed Stelmach.

He taught high school in Barrhead, Alberta from 1969 to 1974 and coached the National Reach for the Top High School Academic Championship Team from Barrhead in 1973. In 1974, Mr. Kowalski joined the Government of Alberta as Executive Assistant to the Deputy Premier. He was appointed Deputy Minister, Regional Transportation Services in 1979.

Mr. Kowalski has served as Chair of the Select Committee on Surface Rights, Chair of the Heritage Savings Trust Fund Select Committee and as a member of the Syncrude Board of Directors. He was appointed Minister of the Environment and Minister of Alberta Public Safety Services in 1986. After his re-election in 1989, he was appointed to Cabinet as Minister of Public Works, Supply and Services, the Wild Rose Foundation and ACCESS Corporation. He has also served as Minister of Career Development and Employment and as Minister of Economic Development and Tourism responsible for Technology Research and Telecommunications, International Trade Offices and Lotteries. He was Government House Leader from June 15, 1993 to December 15, 1993. Mr. Kowalski served as Deputy Premier from 1992 to 1994.