PDF
CPA Activities: The Canadian Scene

50^th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference

In September 2004 the 50th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference will take place in Toronto. It will bring together more than 400 senior Parliamentarians and parliamentary officials.

Workshops will be held on the following topics:

• Commonwealth Standards for Democratic Legislatures and the Commonwealth Principles on the Accountability of and Relationship Between the Three Branches of Government
• An Integrated Strategy to Combat Racism, Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
• Successful Strategies in Prevention, Management and Treatment of the AIDS Pandemic
• Parliament and Civil Society Working Together for Poverty Reduction
• Parliament and the Right to Know
• Protecting Public Health in the Global Village

There will also be a plenary discussion on “The Trend Towards Supra-National Parliaments – Should Every Region Have One?”

The conference focus was determined by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Executive Committee which met in Kampala, Uganda, in mid-April.  The Committee, whose meeting was chaired by Hashim Abdul Halim, MLA, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal in India, set the conference agenda as part of a wider programme to strengthen parliamentary democracy around the Commonwealth.

The Committee also set the agenda for the 24th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference of Members from Small Countries which will bring about 70 Parliamentarians from small Commonwealth jurisdictions to Quebec City for a two-day meeting immediately prior to the plenary conference.  The conference includes sessions on:

• The Role of Parliament in Regional Economic Integration of Small Countries
• The role of Parliamentarians in Implementing the Barbados Programme of Action (BPOA) on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
• Tax and Fiscal Sovereignty: Dialogue between the OECD and Offshore Financial Centres
• Holding the Executive to Account: Scrutiny in Small States

Working Groups will look at Economic Vulnerability And Resilience Of Small States, Trade and SIDS, and Sustainable Tourism Resources

New Speaker in Nunavut

Jobie Nutarak was acclaimed as Speaker of the Second Legislative Assembly during the Nunavut Leadership Forum on March 5, 2004.  Mr. Nutarak formally took his seat at the head of the House on March 9, 2004.

Mr.  Nutarak was born on May 10, 1947, in the Baffin Community of Pond Inlet. He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut on February 15, 1999, by the people of Pond Inlet to represent the Tunnuniq Riding.  Mr. Nutarak was re-elected to the Assembly in Nunavut’s Second general election on February 16, 2004.

Mr. Nutarak has been actively involved in local politics for a number of years. He has served on the Community Education Council, the Baffin Divisional Board of Education, the Pond Inlet Health and Social Services Board, and the Pond Inlet Hunters and Trappers’ Organization.

Mr. Nutarak’s employment history includes working as an Airport Runway Maintainer and a Foreman of Municipal Services for the Hamlet of Pond Inlet. He also trained as an oil rig driller and a heavy equipment operator.