Friday, September 15, 2000

There will be some tough topics on the table-including drugs, crime, corruption and poverty-when Canada hosts, in March 2001, the first-ever conference of a new parliamentary body bringing together delegates from 34 countries in North and South America.

"Nobody will ever accuse us of shying away from controversialsubjects," MP Bill Graham said today following an organizing session in Ottawa for the new Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas.

Representatives on a six-nation Steering Committee spent two days developing procedures, rules and a heavy agenda for the March 7 to 9 gathering of more than 100 legislators, also to be held in Ottawa.

The list of nations joining the new organization is identical to that of the OAS (Organization of American States), but the views expressed at the Ottawa conference will not be solely those of national administrations, said Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette.

"The strength of such parliamentary conferences stems from the fact that delegates come from both government and opposition parties of each nation," said the Quebec Senator who co-chaired, with Graham, the Steering Committee sessions.

She added that "A wider range of interest helps to explore all aspects of an agenda item-and any consensus resolutions receive a broader acceptance when returned to a member parliament for adoption and action."

Graham said the selection of Canada to host the group's Report of the Inaugural Meeting was a testament to this country's reputation for providing an environment for multi-national debate-and a clear indicator of how hard the delegates planned to work.

Other agenda items include economic integration in the Americas and debt relief for heavily-indebted countries.

In addition to Canada, the five nations on the Steering Committee are Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Grenada and the U.S.