Senedd Visit Programme to Canada 17-20 February 2020

Delegation: Llywydd, MS Deputy Presiding Officer, MS Commissioner, Suzy Davies MS

1

Content:

1. Background and Purpose p.3

2. The Visit Programme p. 4

3. Acknowledgments p.17

4. “Reflections from Canada” by DPO Ann Jones MS p.18

Annex A – Programme Summary. P.19

2

1. Background and Purpose

There has been significant engagement between the Senedd and Canada, on both a federal and provincial level, over the past decade.

Some notable engagement over this period has included:

- 2011 & 2014: Official visits to the Senedd by federal delegations from the Canadian Parliament. - 2014: Visit to the Senedd, led by Speaker of the Senate of Canada, the Hon Noel A. Kinsella - 2014 – First official Llywydd/Presiding Officer (Dame Rosemary Butler) led visit to Canada; with parliamentary programmes in and the National Assembly of New Brunswick. - 2017: Visit to the Senedd by Speaker of the New Brunswick Assembly, Hon Chris Collins.

Such visits have made clear that there is much in common and significant interest in learning of, and exchanging best parliamentary practice, between the Senedd and Canada’s parliaments.

This 2020 visit to Canada represents one of two agreed set-piece international visits on which the Llywydd has led (the other being the 2019 visit to Africa).

As with all Senedd international activity, this visit was developed to complement and deliver the work of the Commission’s Framework for International Engagement .

3

2. The Visit Programme

Monday 17 February

Meeting with Mr Andrew Wagstaff, Head of in Canada. The Ottawa programme began with an informal meeting with Andrew Wagstaff, Head of the Welsh Government’s office in Canada, which was opened in 2017and is based in Montreal, Quebec.

Mr Wagstaff gave the delegation an overview of the current political situation in Canada with regard to the recent Federal election in October 2019, as well as of the Quebec Provincial election in October 2018. As part of this, he outlined the government-to-government part of the Welsh Government Office in Canada’s work which engages with both the Federal and Provincial governments (primarily the Quebec Government). This however was a relatively small part of their work, particularly at the Federal level with engagement with Ottawa focussed on soft-power areas of policy, such as: climate change (Wales joined the UK-Canada led Powering Past Coal Alliance in 2018 as an independent member), bilingualism and official languages.

Discussed was the Welsh Government’s Minister for International Relations (and Welsh Language) Eluned Morgan AM’s new International Strategy, and how this applied to its work in Canada.

Suzy Davies AM was keen to learn more of how the three priorities sectors named in the strategy – cybersecurity; compound semiconductor; and creative industries/quality film & television – complemented the opportunities in the Canadian market; noting that in her Region (South West Wales) marine energy capability is very strong

The Welsh Government’s overall strategic vision remained agile in their individual markets and would therefore also continue to work in sectors with strong synergies to those in Wales. In Canada, these were Aerospace and marine energy. There were opportunities for Wales in the marine energy sector, and the WG had already been working with this sector, having had a presence at the Energy3 conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2019 in partnership with Marine Energy Wales; as well as working in partnership with a Canadian company at the Morlais testbed centre in Anglesey.

4

Tuesday 18 February

Note: The 2014 Senedd visit programme to Ottawa included a presentation of the Canadian Parliament’s ambitious restoration programmes. These had begun in 2018 and both the original Senate and House of Commons were now in a state of renovation; a major project that was likely to last at least a decade

The official parliamentary programme began with a tour of Canada’s Senate which was temporarily housed in the impressive surroundings of the Government Conference Centre (GCC) that was, until 1966, Ottawa’s Central Railway Station.

Photo: Senedd delegation with Canadian Senate Tour Guide

5

Meeting with Speaker of the Senate, The Hon Mr George J Furey Q.C.

Note: News of Storm Dennis, which had caused severe flooding and devastation in parts of Wales the previous week, had been covered on Canadian news. Speaker Furey expressed condolences over this; a sentiment appreciated by the Welsh delegation and one which was echoed by many others during the visit.

The meeting covered a wide range of issues with Speaker Furey interested to learn more of:

- the impact of Brexit on Wales and the Assembly and of the narrative of the debate (agreed by all as having been divisive); shaped differently in Wales which had voted Leave, in contrast to Scotland and Northern Ireland. - Constitutional developments within Wales and more broadly within the UK and Ireland. Within this context the Llywydd discussed the very different journeys undertaken by the respective countries and democracies within the UK. She relayed the story of the evolution of Welsh democracy and of how the current Senedd with primary law making powers (gained through the 2011 Referendum) bore little resemblance to

6

the Assembly which she and the Deputy Presiding Officer had joined at its inception in 1999. This led to a discussion on - the Senedd and Elections Act which had recently gained Royal Ascent and which would, as part of its remit, result in a change of name (to Senedd Cymru-Welsh Parliament) as well as extend the voting franchise to Young people in Wales of 16 years old from next year’s Senedd election. - The Senedd’s Business Committee, chaired by the Llywydd; and in particular the process whereby the Senedd business timetable was determined as well as how requests for topical and emergency questions were agreed or declined.

The meeting ended with a discussion on the current renovations of the Canadian Senate. This major and painstaking project was expected to last some 15 years. Speaker Furey noted that he was delighted with the Senate’s new temporary home; adding that its location, in the original Ottawa Central Rail station, seemed an appropriate metaphor as a place to bring Canadians together.

Meeting with Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota MP

A courtesy call with the Hon Anthony Rota, who had (following the December 2019 General Election) been elected as the 37th Speaker of the House of Commons, included a discussion which covered: 7

- Contrasting traditions of the Canadian Parliament as a longstanding legislature to that of the Senedd as a far smaller and modern parliament. - Topical issues, including the Canadian Pipeline and Railway Protest; discussions around which dominated that afternoon’s Question Period (Time), as well as the TV news during the Welsh delegation’s visit to both Ottawa and Quebec. - The 25th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) which had been hosted by Canada in Ottawa in January 2020. - The competing demands and challenges of balancing the roles of Parliamentary Speakers and that of constituency work. - Climate Change and of how parliaments react to the Climate Emergency, declared by both Wales and Canada in 2019. - Official languages within the Canadian Parliament and whether this was politicised. Speaker Rota suggested that some 30% of proceedings within the HoC were in French (a figure estimated by the Llywydd to be similar to that of the Welsh Language in the Senedd). A noted difference in the way that official languages were treated in Canada was that all proceedings were, as a matter of principle, translated both ways; whereas the Llywydd explained that translations in the Senedd were only provided between Welsh to English. - Speaker Rota, as a fluent speaker of four languages, acknowledged the challenges of learning new languages for some but that every effort and provision was made to allow its Members to be able to communicate bilingually. - The Llywydd and delegation also learned of the different parliamentary systems noting, for instances, that Question Periods in Canada did not allow the opportunity for the Member asking the question to follow-up with a supplementary.

An Official luncheon for the Welsh delegation was kindly hosted by Speaker Rota and attended by a cross party representation of Members of Parliament. Speaker Rota welcomed the Llywydd and Welsh delegation and noted the significant contribution which the Welsh people had made to Canadian life; commenting that some 500,000 Canadian citizens could trace their ancestry back to Wales. The Llywydd in turn thanked Speaker Rota for the warm welcome received and of the many special historical links between Wales and Canada; including the fact that the Canadian Prime Minister’s official residence had originally been named “Gorffwysfa” (a place of rest). She added how pleasing it had been to host two previous federal parliamentary delegations to the Senedd and hoped that the

8

positive relationship between our Members and parliaments could continue and flourish.

Amongst the guests at the luncheon, it had been pleasing to have the opportunity to meet Ms MP, Chair of the Canadian Parliament’s Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA); particularly as Canada would host the 2021 Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Nova Scotia.

Attendance at House of Commons Plenary The delegation was invited to sit in the Speaker’s gallery and attend that afternoon’s Question Period (which included questions to Prime Minister MP). The Llywydd was honoured by an official recognition by Speaker Rota and Members present.

Twitter Video clip of Llywydd’s Recognition in Canada’s Parliament

Session on Official Languages

Photo: Delegation with Language Commissioner Mr Raymond Theberge and officials.

9

The delegation met with Mr Raymond Theberge, Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada (and accompanying officials). Mr Théberge is a Member of the International Association of Language Commissioners, of which the Welsh Language Commissioner, (currently former Senedd Member, ) is also a Member.

Mr Théberge gave the delegation an overview of his mandate as Commissioner as well as the complicated language landscape in Canada; noting for instance the different linguistic makeup of the Provinces, not all of which had individual language acts. He discussed how the official (federal) languages act was now over 50 years old and in need of updating in order to reflect the modern Canada with its focus on new technology and a new demographic and demands.

Of particular interest to the delegation was the differences between the remit of the Languages Act in relation to Parliaments in Canada and Wales as well as the linguistic requirements and support for Members and Officials at our respective legislatures.

Evening Reception with Members of Ottawa Welsh Society

10

Addresses were given by the Llywydd, DPO Ann Jones MS and Suzy Davies MS as well as by Geraint Lewis, President of the Society.

The evening provided the opportunity for society members to learn more of developments back at the Senedd and in Wales. The Llywydd and delegation were also interested to learn more about the work and activities of the Ottawa Welsh Society, including a successful Welsh Film Festival held in the capital in 2019.

Wednesday 19 February

Session on Budget, Audit, and Risk Assurance at the Canadian Senate A session with Senior Officials of the Canadian Senate on Budget, Audit and Risk was held with Suzy Davies AM, for whom the subject matter is of particular interest as part of her portfolio as a Senedd Commissioner.

Discussions included the surprising differences between the systems in Wales and Canada, including the threshold for signoff of single transaction (significantly higher in Wales) as well as the role of the Independent Remuneration Board.

Current risks and priorities at the Canadian Senate were explained to include Staff retention; Cyber attacks as well as the shared networks with the Canadian House of Commons. Discussed also was the Senate’s plans to establish an Audit and Oversight Committee, once its exact mandate was decided upon.

11

Thursday 20 February

Photo: Y Ddraig Goch flying above the National Assembly of Québec

Photo: The delegation was welcomed to the National Assembly of Quebec by President (Speaker) of the National Assembly of Québec, Mr François Paradis

12

Note: the planned official meeting with President Paradis was unfortunately not possible, due to emergency business at the National Assembly on that day, related to the pipeline and railway crisis.

Attendance at Plenary Session. The delegation was pleased of the opportunity to attend that morning’s plenary session and honoured to be officially recognised by President Paradis and Members of the National Assembly.

Of particular interest to the delegation was the content of the session where Members discussed the need for their traditional legislature in Quebec to modernise and to become more accessible by adopting initiatives such as family friendly sitting hours and electronic voting to facilitate this. These were things that were well established and now taken for granted at the Senedd.

As part of the Llywydd’s follow-up communication with the National Assembly for Quebec, an invitation was issued to President Paradis to visit the Senedd to learn more of the policies and technology in place at the Welsh Parliament which might be of interest as part of Quebec’s modernisation aspirations.

Session on Audit and Risk Management This presentation by senior officials provided an opportunity to learn more of mechanisms in place within the National Assembly for Quebec and its priorities, as part of a three year plan for internal audit. A dedicated unit was in place for the strategic planning and an Audit Committee established within the Assembly.

The meeting also provided an opportunity for Suzy Davies MS to discuss current practices in the Senedd, many of which differed substantially to those in Quebec. There was interest to learn more of: - the role of the Senedd’s CEO and Clerk as Chief Accounting Officer - Suzy Davies’ role as a lay member on the “Assembly Commission Audit Risk Assurance Committee” (ACARAC); and, more generally, the role of elected Members in risk management - How the Public Account Committee (PAC) scrutinised the Senedd’s Finance Committee - The role of the Auditor General for Wales

The Llywydd noted that one of the advantages of being a young parliament was the ability to instil a culture of open and transparent governance from the outset. It was agreed to share further information in relation to this topic between parliaments following the visit. 13

Working Lunch with the Quebec Assembly Circle of Women A meeting with representatives of the Cercle des Femmes Parlementaires (Circle of Women Members of the National Assembly) facilitated a discussion to learn more of the Cercle; its history and objectives. Women’s representation at both the Senedd and Quebec was discussed (both parliaments have a generally positive record and good story to tell) whilst considering some of the shared historical frustrations and ongoing challenges which women in democratic institutions continue to face.

The DPO gave an overview of some of the work on which she had been leading on in the Senedd to promote women in democracy, as well as equalities more generally.

There was interest in the Llywydd’s account of the work of the Senedd in delivering its Dignity and Respect Policy and the Senedd agreed to forward further details of the policy to the Quebec Assembly.

Photo: The delegation with representatives of the Quebec Assembly Circle of Women.

Session on the National Assembly of Québec’s Engagement Strategy

The delegation learned of the Assembly’s work to engage with the young people of Quebec through its Education Services’ team of eight officials.

14

The Service’s work was focussed through the province’s schools. A programme of educational activities to support extending the democratic franchise included residential “youth camps” tailored towards specific age groups.

President (Speaker) Paradis was very supportive of the work of engaging with the young people of Quebec and played a prominent role in this, as the figurehead of the Assembly.

The Llywydd discussed the Welsh Youth Parliament (WYP), its background and current work priorities; stating that it was something of which she and all Senedd Members were rightly proud of. Suzy Davies MS noted how the Senedd’s Children, Young People and Education Committee, on which she sat, invited Members of the WYP to give evidence to the Committee

There was much interest in this by the Quebec hosts and, in particular, in the WYP’s selected partner organisations (from which 20 Members had been selected) and further details about the WYP have since been shared with the Assembly of Quebec’s Engagement team.

Tour of the “Reception Pavilion”

The programme finished with a tour of the highly impressive new modern and interactive visitor centre at the National Assembly, which is known as the “Reception Pavilion”. The centre which had opened on 1 June 2019 was a major project which had taken four years to construct at a cost of $60.5 Million Canadian Dollars (£34.25 million). The construction included two new committee rooms, named after the first female MNA, Marie-Claire Kirkland, and the first female premier, Pauline Marois.

Various notable works of art were on display which were carefully selected to commemorate Quebec’s collective political and cultural history.

3. Acknowledgments The Senedd would like to put on record its thanks to all involved in facilitating this visit programme in Canada and, in particular:

Andrew Wagstaff, Head of Canada Office, Welsh Government Geraint Lewis, President, Ottawa Welsh Society Leslie Roach and Kevin Pitman, Marie-Christine Aubé and Mylène Poulin, National Assembly for Quebec.

15

4. “Reflections from Canada” by DPO Ann Jones MS

The overall impression of the way the Parliaments we visited both at Ottawa and Quebec were how like the UK House of Commons they were yet they had some real differences that made their proceedings unique to their legislatures. Whilst recognising that Question Time is often the politicians chance to make good media (which often gets in the way of a good debate) there was a distinct approach in the way that members use the chair/speaker and do not do the usual finger pointing at their opponents as they directly face the Speaker when addressing the Parliament. The role of the business manager (certainly in Ottawa) was clearly seen as it was he who directed the business and his choice on which government member would answer the questions.

I was taken by the fact that both questioners and government responses were limited to 35 seconds , that rule being strictly enforced by the Speaker. The jury on me is still out on the standing up of members to applaud the person who had spoken and the amount of hand shaking that went on virtually every 35 seconds. Whilst it gives a sense of passion , I found it a distraction.

The session with the Language Commissioner I found interesting and similar to the issues we have faced within our own organisation on dealing with bilingualism. They too seem to have to deal with the consequences of raising expectations of communities/complainants of their role as defined in legislation. It was good to meet the Ottawa Welsh Society, many of whom had travelled long distances to join us and pleasing to find a former constituent of mine whose family still reside in my area. Quebec Parliament was again styled similar to the UK House of Commons and even to a procession of the Speaker before the sitting commenced Again observing Question time , slightly different proceeding and less theatre than in Ottawa It was good to speak to women representatives from the circle of women and for us to share our thoughts on the barriers that women still face in public life. The session with the Visitors team was most interesting and the way in which they developed their youth parliament was interesting even to a summer residential session. Their new visitor centre has taken the opportunity to make good use of new technologies with interactive display boards. All of the sessions both in Ottawa and Quebec were extremely useful and the politicians and staff gave of their time freely, even though it was for them a busy business period.

16

ANNEX A

PROGRAMME SUMMARY

Monday 17 February

• Arrival in Ottawa

• Briefing session with Andrew Wagstaff, Welsh Government Head of Canada

Tuesday 18 February

• Tour of the Canadian Senate

• Courtesy call with Speaker of the Senate, George J Furey

• Courtesy call with Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota MP

• Official luncheon for the Welsh delegation hosted by Speaker Rota

• Attendance at the House of Commons for Question Time and Official Recognition

• Session on Official Languages

• Reception with Ottawa Welsh Society

Wednesday 19 February

• Session for Suzy Davies AM at Canadian Senate on Budget, Audit, and Risk Assurance

• Travel to Quebec City

17

Thursday 20 February

• Official Welcome to National Assembly for Québec by Speaker of the National Assembly of Québec, Mr François Paradis

• Attendance at plenary sitting and official recognition

• Session on Audit and Risk Assurance

• Working Lunch with the Quebec Assembly Circle of Women

• Presentations on the Québec Parliament’s Engagement Strategy

• Tour of New Assembly Visitor Centre

Friday 21 February

• Depart Quebec City - onward travel to Wales

18