Introduction and Acknowledgments

This book has been commissioned by the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union to commemorate its 100^th year of official affiliation with the IPU and to celebrate the holding of the Union’s 127^th Assembly in the city of Québec in October 2012. This anniversary is a proud occasion for Canadian parliamentarians. As the following pages confirm, they have created over the years an active and strong IPU Group that has shown sustained dedication to worldwide democracy through parliamentary diplomacy.

When I set out to write this book, I was surprised to discover how little published material was available on the history of the Canadian Group, even though Canada’s first participation in IPU assemblies dates back to 1900. I hope that this book will provide a valuable historical record of Canadian parliamentarians’ involvement in the IPU’s activities.

The following pages do not pretend to provide an exhaustive study of the activities of the Canadian Group. The main focus of Part 1 is the Group’s participation in IPU assemblies over the years. Part 2 highlights some of the key themes addressed by the Group in IPU assemblies. Part 3 presents all presidents of the Group, with their photographs. Part 4 lists Canadian delegates to IPU assemblies since 1900.

This book could not have been written without the help of others. I wish first to express my gratitude for the support I received from the Hon. Donald H. Oliver, Speaker pro tempore of the Senate and President of the Canadian IPU Group. Senator Oliver was the first person with whom I met to obtain guidance on the project. He suggested names of people to be interviewed and helped identify public policy issues important to the Canadian Group.

I would also like to express very special thanks to the following persons who kindly agreed to be interviewed: the Hon. Salma Ataullahjan, Senator; the Hon. Sharon Carstairs, P.C., former Senator; Marlene Catterall, former MP; the Hon. Gerald J. Comeau, Senator; the Hon. Dennis Dawson, Senator; the Hon. Joan Fraser, Senator; Benno Friesen, former MP; Roger Hill, former Advisor to the Canadian Group; the Hon. Marcel Prud’homme, P.C., former MP and former Senator; and the Hon. Paddy Torsney, P.C., former MP. Their collective memory helped in identifying the major public policy areas presented in Part 2, as well as in tracing particular events and anecdotes presented throughout this book. The full transcripts of these interviews are available on the website of the Canadian IPU Group. I encourage all readers to review the transcripts, which reflect the interviewees’ dedication and valuable contributions to the IPU, as well as their strong attachment to this organization.

I am also greatly indebted to the Union’s headquarters for giving full and free access to their archives and library. Several IPU staff members were very helpful in explaining how to use their archives and collections, collating some statistics and searching for images. Thanks are also due to Gary Levy, Editor of the Canadian Parliamentary Review, who provided guidance in searching through historical material and archives, as well as to Barbara Reynolds, former Advisor to the Canadian Group, who devoted countless hours to helping me search through the debates and journals of the Senate and the House of Commons for the period 1898–1960. She also reviewed and commented on the first version of the book and provided photographs.

The project’s coordination from idea to this final product was overseen by the current Senior Advisor to the Canadian Group, Joseph Jackson. It was both an honour and a challenge to write this book, and I want to thank him for assigning this important task to me.

The Library of Parliament provided funds for the book’s production, as well as for travel to and accommodation in Geneva. I want to thank several colleagues from the Library who contributed to the project:

From the Parliamentary Information and Research Service: Jean-Denis Fréchette, Acting Director General, reviewed and approved the various parts of the text. Other colleagues assisted in the drafting, peer review, archival research, internal quality assurance, and planning of various meetings: Kathleen Cauley, Frédéric Forge, Marie-France Gareau, Hélène McLean, Marcus Pistor and Nataly Quesnel.

From the Information and Document Resource Service: Janet Brooks, Marc Lapointe and Denise Ledoux were responsible for obtaining the photographs of the presidents of the Canadian IPU Group in appropriate formats for reproduction purposes, along with copyright authorizations and credits. They were assisted in this work by Kerry Barrow from the House of Commons’ Curatorial Services.

From Publishing, Editing and Creative Services: Brenda Laporte, Manager, was responsible for all steps in the production/publishing process. Michel Corriveau oversaw the editing of the French and English texts. Marc Foley and his team – Cheryl Deblette and Stéphanie Routhier – created the book’s design and layout.

Special thanks also go to colleagues from the International and Inter-Parliamentary Affairs Directorate who provided access to their archives. The Directorate also contributed funds for this book’s production.

Please note that, with a few exceptions, the persons named in the book are all current or former Canadian parliamentarians. Their designation as “Senator” or “MP” in this book reflects their role at the time referred to in the text.

Odette Madore
Manager, Special Projects
Library of Parliament