MEDIA STATEMENT

11 October 2010

MPs to attend Canadian Parliamentary Seminar

New Zealand members of Parliament, Darien Fenton and Melissa Lee, will attend the 8th Session of the Canadian Parliamentary Seminar in Ottawa, Canada from 17 to 23 October 2010.

Their attendance is at the invitation of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Canadian Branch and the CPA Secretariat.

The theme for the 8th Session of the Canadian Parliamentary Seminar is, “Strengthening Democracy and the Role of Parliamentarians: Challenges and Solutions”.

The Canadian Parliamentary Seminar is an annual event and provides an opportunity for professional development of parliamentarians and strengthening their understanding of the principles of democracy. The seminar also allows participants from the nine regions of the CPA to interact and hold discussions on issues of mutual importance.

“Given the wide range of countries represented at the seminar we are looking forward to discussing with our Commonwealth colleagues the challenges we all face as parliamentarians and find solutions to strengthening the principles of democracy” Ms Fenton said.

This is the second year New Zealand has attending the Canadian Parliamentary Seminar. Dr Paul Hutchison MP and Sue Moroney MP attended in 2009.

ENDS

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