For the second time the Canadian Regional Review is publishing a special Issue to coincide with the Canadian Regional Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. As was the case for the New Brunswick Conference in 1979 the background documents are being made available, through the Review, to all members of the Association and to others interested in subjects discussed at the 1980 conference in Victoria. The topics were chosen by the British Columbia Branch of the CPA.

The Review acknowledges the assistance of parliamentary and legislative research services in Ottawa, Toronto and Quebec City for permission to publish some of the papers prepared for this Conference. The Review is also grateful to David Adams and Clarence Reser of the Speaker's Office in British Columbia for preparing an article on The Parliamentary Tradition in British Columbia".

This marks the ninth issue of the Canadian Parliamentary Review since its establishment in 1978. It was intended primarily to inform members of Canadian branches of CPA about activities of their Association but the Review has also published articles by federal members of Parliament, provincial legislators, parliamentary and legislative staff and others. In May 1980 the Editorial Board approved introduction of a new format intended to rationalize the Review 's contents into more clearly defined sections. New features on publications of interest to parliamentarians and quarterly reports on legislative activities were added. These were consistent with the Board's desire to increase provincial content.

Since establishment of a new format in the June 1980 issue the Editor is encouraged by positive responses from past and potential contributors in Ottawa and from several provinces. The Review will continue to seek co-operation from provinces which for one reason or another, have contributed very little in the past but the contents of future issues will naturally continue to reflect the interests of those jurisdictions where members and staff are willing to write for the Review.

The Canadian Regional Review is not published by the federal branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association but rather by all Canadian branches. It is financed from a fund equally divided between federal and provincial legislatures. Given enthusiastic and high quality co-operation the Review can become an even better publication and fulfill its objective of promoting the study of and respect for parliamentary institutions in Canada.