• Letter from the Speaker
• A Sense of Place and of Purpose: Canada's House of Commons
• Find Out More About Canada's Members of Parliament
• Reaching Out and Engaging Citizens
• At Work in the House of Commons
• At Work in Committees
• At Work Representing Canada Abroad
• Behind the Scenes: The House of Commons Administration
• Supporting Strategic Objectives
• Conclusion
• Financial Report
• Members of the House of Commons

At Work Representing Canada Abroad

Through parliamentary diplomacy, Members of Parliament play an active role representing and promoting Canada on the international stage. From their participation at international conferences to their work promoting democracy as well as economic and social ties with developed and developing nations alike, Members help to advance Canada's interests.

The Speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons also build parliamentary relationships with other countries by receiving courtesy calls from newly accredited ambassadors to Canada and keeping in regular contact with the diplomatic community in the capital.

The Speaker of the House of Commons held 48 such courtesy calls in 2007-2008.

Representing Canada's Interests and Sharing our Experience

The Speaker and Members are regularly invited to visit other legislatures to discuss common issues, foster relationships and share knowledge and expertise. At the invitation of his counterpart presiding officers, Speaker Milliken led official delegations to the following countries during 2007-2008:

• Trinidad and Tobago (April 2-5, 2007)
• Germany (October 8-13, 2007)
• Malaysia (November 1-9, 2007)
• Peru (March 15-20, 2008).

In addition, the Speaker participated in the following parliamentary conferences:

• G8 Speakers' Conference, Berlin and Potsdam, Germany (September 7-9, 2007)
• 19^th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers
  of the Commonwealth, London, United Kingdom
  (January 2-6, 2008)
• Canadian Presiding Officers Conference, Quebec City (January 24-26, 2008)
• XV^th Canada-Mexico Interparliamentary Meeting, Mazatlán, Mexico (February 17-19, 2008).

Welcoming Foreign Parliamentarians and Dignitaries

In addition to their work abroad, the Speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons also serve as hosts to foreign parliamentarians and dignitaries visiting Canada. In 2007-2008, Parliament hosted the following official visits by foreign parliamentary speakers and delegations:

• The Honourable David Hawker, M.P., Speaker of the House of Representatives of Australia, and a parliamentary delegation (April 14-21, 2007)
• His Excellency Dr. Jaime José Matos da Gama, President
  of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic, and a parliamentary delegation (April 30-May 4, 2007)
• His Excellency Franco Marini, President of the Senate
  of the Italian Republic (September 4-7, 2007)
• The Right Honourable the Baroness Hayman, Lord Speaker of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (September 24-28, 2007)
• Her Excellency Jozefina Topalli, M.P., Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Albania, and a parliamentary delegation (October 14-20, 2007)
• His Excellency Degefe Bula, Speaker of the House of the Federation of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and a parliamentary delegation (October 15-21, 2007)
• Her Excellency Katalin Szili, M.P., Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Hungary, and a parliamentary delegation (October 28-November 1, 2007)
• His Excellency Wolfgang Erlitz, President of the Federal Council of the Republic of Austria, and a parliamentary delegation (November 25-30, 2007)
• His Excellency Danzan Lundeejantsan, Chairman of
  the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia, and
  a parliamentary delegation (December 2-7, 2007)
• His Excellency Dr. Norbert Lammert, President of the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) of the Federal Republic
  of Germany (January 30-February 5, 2008)
• The Honourable Kathleen Casey, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island (February 12-13, 2008)
• The Honourable Roger Fitzgerald, Speaker of the House
  of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador
  (February 12-13, 2008).

By visiting abroad and by serving as host to foreign visits, parliamentarians share ideas with their counterparts from around the world, exploring common concerns and finding lasting solutions to problems. Frequent topics of discussion include parliamentary democracy, international security, agriculture, immigration, trade and investment, the environment and international development.

The Parliament of Canada is also a member of various parliamentary associations. Each of these associations holds conferences, seminars and meetings. These events offer Canadian parliamentarians further opportunities to promote Canada's interests abroad, and to maintain bilateral and multilateral relationships with other countries.

Many issues of concern to Members of Parliament and their constituents transcend national and regional borders. Canadian parliamentarians must take into account the views and interests of other countries. This is especially true in a globalized world in which decisions of international organizations can have an effect on the daily lives of their constituents. Here are examples of activities undertaken by Members of Parliament in this regard:

• The World Trade Organization (WTO) holds annual public events where participants from government, parliament, civil society, the business sector, academia and the media jointly reflect on the functioning of the multilateral trading system and analyze the institutional state of the WTO. As part of the 2007 program, a delegation participated in a panel on climate change, organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
• The Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas sent a delegation to the 37^th Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States. The main theme, Energy for Sustainable Development, was of particular interest to the delegation and their attendance allowed members to improve their understanding of issues of hemispheric interest.
• In meetings with United States governors and state legislators, members of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group advocated for measures that would be beneficial to Canadian business, such as the balanced implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.
• In 2007, Canadian NATO Parliamentary Assembly members worked with other delegates on examining issues such as the security repercussions of global warming, as well as the security ramifications related to the ability of certain nations to gain nuclear weapons. Canadian members were very active in debates on the subject of NATO's mission in Afghanistan.

Interparliamentary Groups

Interparliamentary groups strengthen relations between Canadian parliamentarians and their counterparts from other countries. These groups promote cooperation and understanding between nations. The Parliament of Canada is involved in official interparliamentary groups with Germany, Ireland, Israel and Italy. The activities of these groups are supported financially through the membership fees from individual parliamentarians.