New Speaker in British Columbia

On June 19, 2001, Claude Richmond, Member for Kamloops, was elected as the 35^th 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