Thirty-Fifth Regional Conference, Winnipeg

From July 27 - August 2, 1996, more than 80 legislators and observers from the Senate, the House of Commons and every provincial and territorial legislature except British Columbia gathered in Winnipeg for the annual Regional Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

Among the special guests were members of the British House of Commons, Derek Conway and Allan Rogers, Senator LeRoy Stumpf of Minnesota, Sir Colin Shepherd, Chairman of the Executive Committee of CPA, Emily Saunders, a member of the Legislative Council of the Turks and Caicos, Russell Grove, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales, and Mahbub Alam, of the CPA secretariat in London.

At the opening reception delegates were welcomed to the Conference by the Premier of Manitoba, Gary Filmon, and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Louise Dacquay. They arrived at the Legislature dressed in "Voyageur" costumes after a trip by canoe along the Assiniboia River.

The Conference was formally opened the following day by Speaker Dacquay and the Mayor of Winnipeg. The first business session focused on the Future Role of the Commonwealth and featured presentations by Krishnan Srinivasan, Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, and Sir Colin Shepherd.

The second session dealt with balanced budget legislation. It was chaired by Speaker Danny Gay of New Brunswick and included presentations by Lillian Ross MPP of Ontario and John Ottenheimer MHA of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The topic for the third session was Public Perceptions of Elected Office Holders. The Chairman was Speaker Allan McLean of Ontario. The panellists were Scott Edmonds of Canadian Press, Professor Trevor Anderson of the University of Manitoba and Speaker Stan Schumacher of Alberta.

Speaker Lloyd Snow of Newfoundland and Labrador chaired the next session which dealt with government sponsored gambling. Panellists were Maynard Sonntag MLA from Saskatchewan and Rose Marie MacDonald MLA of Prince Edward Island.

The fifth session dealt with proportional representation. It was chaired by Speaker Sam Gargan of the Northwest Territories. The panellists were John Mackay MLA of New Brunswick and Dennis Richards MLA, Nova Scotia.

Aboriginal Self Government was the topic of the sixth session. Eric Robinson MLA of Manitoba was the Chair and the speakers were Elijah Harper MP, James Downey, Deputy Premier of Manitoba and Phil Fontaine, Grand Chief, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

The seventh session, Chaired by Speaker John Devries of Yukon, dealt with restructuring education. The lead speaker was David Newman MLA of Manitoba. The last session, on Technology and the Legislature, was Chaired by Speaker Glenn Hagel from Saskatchewan and featured a presentation by Don Boudria MP.

In addition to the business sessions delegates and observers were treated to numerous examples of "friendly Manitoba" hospitality including a tour of the St. Boniface Museum and Fort Gibralter as well as evening functions celebrating Manitoba’s entertainers, its ethnic diversity, and its Western heritage. At the conclusion many delegates congratulated Speaker Dacquay and her staff on the fine organization of both the business and leisure events.

Canadian Regional Council Meeting

Immediately preceding the Conference a meeting of the Canadian Regional Council of CPA was held. The Council, which is the executive of the Canadian Region, took a number of decisions regarding future activities.

It considered whether future meetings should be held in conjunction with the Presiding Officers Conference in January, separately in Ottawa in the Spring or as part of the Regional Conference. After discussion it was agreed that the most convenient and cost effective time was in conjunction with the Conference. Thus the 1997 Council meeting will take place in Saskatchewan which will host the Conference. The 1997 Presiding Officers Conference will take place in Edmonton from January 25-28.

The Council decided to accept Quebec’s suggestion that the 1997 Regional Seminar be replaced by an Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Free Trade in the Americas that will be held in Quebec City from September 18-22. The 1998 Regional Seminar will be held in Alberta.

20th Canadian Regional Seminar

The 1996 CPA Canadian Regional Seminar will be held in Fredericton from October 25-27.

Invitations have been sent to all provincial and territorial branches and to the federal branch inviting them to send three delegates and one parliamentary officer to the conference. Branches were also invited to submit topics of interest for the business sessions.

Arrivals and welcome reception are scheduled for Friday, October 25th and departures on October 27th. The business sessions are scheduled for Saturday, October 26th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 27th from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

New Speaker in British Columbia

Dale Lovick was born and raised in Vancouver and obtained Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in English from the University of British Columbia, and later a Master of Arts degree in Canadian Studies from Carleton University in Ottawa. He is fluent in French.

He was an instructor at Malaspina College in Nanaimo, where he taught courses in English and Canadian Studies, and was head of the English Department and President of the Faculty Association.

He edited Tommy Douglas Speaks, a collection of Douglas’ speeches, published in 1979 and is a contributing author in The Canadian Encyclopedia.

He was first elected as MLA in the 1986 general election and was re-elected in 1991 and 1996. He is a former Deputy Speaker and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks, and to the Minister of Forests.