New Speaker in British
Columbia
On June 19, 2001, Claude
Richmond, Member for Kamloops, was elected as the 35th Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of
British Columbia. Mr. Richmond was born in Blue River, British Columbia and
educated in the Kamloops area.
Prior to his first election to
the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in a 1981 by-election, Mr.
Richmond served with the Royal Canadian Air Force and worked for twenty-five
years in small business. From 1974 to 1977, Mr. Richmond served two terms as a
City of Kamloops councillor and from 1978 to 1982 managed CHNL radio station.
Mr. Richmond was re-elected in 1983 and 1986 serving until 1991. During his
three terms as Member for Kamloops, he served as Minister of Tourism and
Minister responsible for Expo ’86, Minister of Social Services and Housing, and
Minister of Forests. From 1988 to 1991, he also served as Government House
Leader. In recent years, Mr. Richmond worked as a business consultant to the
resource industries and markets and also held the position of managing director
of the Kamloops Airport Limited.
Mr. Richmond and his wife
Patricia have three children and two grandchildren. He is the bandmaster of the
Kamloops Rube Band, a group of thirty-five musicians who travel the world as
goodwill ambassadors for Kamloops and British Columbia. He is also an avid
golfer and motorcyclist.
Fortieth Canadian Regional
Conference
The Alberta Legislative Assembly
hosted the annual CPA Regional Conference took place in Edmonton from July 17
to 22, 2001. The host of the Conference was Speaker Ken Kowalski and the
theme was “The Future of Canadian Parliamentary Democracy”. Some 100
parliamentarians from all federal, provincial and territorial legislatures
except British Columbia were in attendance. Also invited were two members of
the British House of Commons and a representative of the Commonwealth
Parliamentary Association Secretariat in London.
There were eight sessions on
the agenda. The first dealt with future challenges to parliamentary privilege
and featured a presentation by Ian McClelland, MLA (Alberta). Another
session looked at the Future of Electoral Systems and included presentations by
Elmer McFayden, MLA (Prince Edward Island) and Speaker Myron Kowalsky
(Saskatchewan).
Professor Roger Gibbins,
President of the Canada West Foundation, was invited to address the conference
on the Impact of Globalization of Canadian Federalism. Another guest speaker was
Marc Henry, Vice-President of IPSOS/Reid. He spoke about the impact of
Demographics on Services and Voting Trends.
Other sessions dealt with
various aspects of information technology and its impact on legislators. John
Baker, Senior Consultant, Sierra Systems and Carol Haley, MLA
Alberta addressed the possibility of a “Virtual Assembly” Elizabeth Weir,
MLA (New Brunswick), Jim Rondeau, MLA (Manitoba) and Marianne Cerilli,
MLA (Manitoba) addressed the subject of how legislatures and governments inform
citizens. Russell Williams, MNA (Quebec), David Hendsbee, MLA
(Nova Scotia) and Tom Hedderson, MHA (Newfoundland) looked at the role
of Technology in relations between Citizens and their Representatives. Finally Sarmite
Bulte, MP looked at resources available to members to inform themselves
about issues.
In addition to the business
sessions a number of social activities were planned for delegates and their
families including a reception hosted by Lieutenant Governor Lois Hole.
Next year the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly
will host the Conference which will take place July 16 - 22.
Regional Seminar
The annual Canadian Regional
Seminar will take place in Regina October 18-20, 2001.
Inaugural International
Seminar hosted by Federal Branch
From November 18 to 24 the
Federal Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, chaired by Sue
Barnes, will host a seminar bringing together four delegates from each of
the 8 regions of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
The format will comprise three
days of topics of general interest to parliamentarians, followed by two days of
sessions on a particular theme, which this year is “Strengthening Democracy:
Equality and Inclusiveness”.
The meetings will be held
within the parliamentary precinct and will allow participants an opportunity to
see the Canadian Parliament in action as well as meeting the host
parliamentarians informally. The seminar has as its aim a cross pollination of
ideas and national experiences.
Among the topics for the 2001
seminar are:
- Canadian Federalism, Canadian
Government and the Role and Operation of Parliament
- The Electoral System and Relations
between Parliamentarians and their Constituents
- Organization, Staffing and
Services to Parliament
- Parliamentary Committees
- Human Rights: Parliament and the
Courts
- Parliament and Civil Society
- Engaging Women in the Political
Process
- Representation in Multicultural
Societies
- Parliament and the Media
- A Parliamentarian’s Dilemma: party
Discipline, Electoral Representation and Personal Conviction