Ottawa, October 19, 2017 - Deputies to the Cuban National Assembly of People’s Power (Parliament) Belkys Pérez Cruz and Ariel Mantecón Ramos, along with parliamentarians from other seven Latin American and Caribbean countries attended ParlAmericas Conference on Legislative Openness this week in Ottawa.
The conference was jointly hosted by the chairpersons of the Standing Committees on foreign affairs of Canada and Chile, The Honorable Robert D. Nault, P.C, M.P., Chair of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas and Vice-President of ParlAmericas International, and Senator Hernán Larrain, President of the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network, respectively.
During these intensive work days Cuban parliamentarians examined some topics such as access to information, accountability through open data, ethics and citizen participation in inclusive decision-making, in which progress should be made in the region through open parliament action plans.
Cuban Ambassador to Canada, Julio Garmendia welcomed the Cuban delegation whose members also met with senators, MPs, and members of the Canada-Cuba Inter-Parliamentary Group to discuss issues of common interest. Cuban deputies visited the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the International Development Research Center (IDRC), both institutions showing their interest to work together with Cuba through cooperation projects and exchanges of experiences.
ParlAmericas is the inter-parliamentary institution that promotes parliamentary diplomacy in the inter-American system. In bringing together the national legislatures of North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, ParlAmericas strengthens democratic governance in the hemisphere by improving the capability of legislators to carry out their duties and fulfill their responsibilities through the exchange of best parliamentarian practices and the promotion of cooperative political dialogue on regional issues.
Embassy of Cuba in Canada, with information provided by Member of Parliament Belkys Pérez Cruz.