Parliamentary Policy Dialogues

Parliaments everywhere are faced with policy challenges that transcend specific social, economic, and cultural contexts. In developed and developing countries, parliamentarians have come up with ideas and strategies for grappling with these challenges that can be of great benefit to counterparts abroad. Parliamentary Policy Dialogues, both North-South and South-South, create opportunities for parliamentarians to compare experiences, share lessons learned, and improve performance through cooperation.

Africa-Canada Parliamentary Policy Dialogue ( Ottawa, November 2006)
Africa-Asia Parliamentary Dialogue (Dar es Salaam, September 2006)

Africa-Canada Parliamentary Policy Dialogue (Saly, September 2005)

Africa-Asia Parliamentary Dialogue (Phnom Penh, October 2004)
Africa-Canada Parliamentary Policy Dialogue (Naivasha, September 2004)

Africa-Canada Parliamentary Policy Dialogue (Ottawa, September 2003)

Strengthening Parliaments for Development

Fourth Africa-Canada Parliamentary Policy Dialogue (Ottawa, November 2006)

Dialogue participants listen to keynote speeches

Canada has committed to spending 0.7% of its GDP on foreign aid, much of it in Africa. How do Canadians know whether these funds actually reduce poverty and provide the services that Africans need? To address this question, the 2006 Africa-Canada Parliamentary Dialogue brought together MPs from eleven African countries to interact with their Canadian counterparts. The Dialogue improved knowledge of aid effectiveness and concluded that parliaments must do more to increase mutual accountability for development results.

In Canada, it is the responsibility of Parliament to make Government accountable for results; African Parliaments have the same responsibility. The effectiveness of aid, therefore, depends in part on Canadian and African Parliamentarians doing their jobs and working as allies to ensure that taxpayer dollars make a difference in the lives of the poor, in countries such as: Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe – all represented at the Dialogue.

African MPs and Canadian MPs and Senators participated actively in a series of meetings. Notes from the most important discussion, including background, examples and key points, are posted here. Notes from the keynote speeches that opened the discussion are also available: the first presentation was made by Deepak Obhrai, MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada; the second was made by Anne Makinda, MP, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Tanzania.

The fight against HIV/AIDS remains a priority issue for all concerned. Last year’s Dialogue led to the creation of the Coalition of African Parliamentarians Against HIV and AIDS. The Coalition’s Vice-Chair, Justin Malewezi, MP, described the struggle in a Talk Politics interview that can be viewed here.

African MPs also appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. Hansard from the meeting can be read here.

Other highlights of the Dialogue included a meeting with The Honourable Josée Verner, Minister of International Cooperation and Minister for La Francophonie and Official Languages, and a meeting at Rideau Hall with Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, prior to her State Visit to Africa. Madam Jean is the Patron of the Parliamentary Centre.

The Dialogue took place in Ottawa from November 6-9, 2006. It was organized by the Parliamentary Centre’s Africa-Canada Parliamentary Strengthening Program, with funds from CIDA and cooperation from the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association.

Corruption, Poverty, Growth and the Role of Parliaments

Africa-Asia Parliamentary Dialogue (Dar es Salaam, September 2006)

From September 25-27, 2006, parliamentarians from 14 countries of Asia and Africa met in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for the second Africa-Asia Parliamentary Dialogue. The first Dialogue was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 2004. The follow-up Dialogue provided an opportunity for participants to reinforce the networking and learning that began two years ago.

Through their experiences, Asian and African countries offer important lessons in human development. As repeatedly emphasized at the Dialogue, there is a need to establish formal mechanisms for mutual learning between Asia and Africa, as both regions seek models for sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction, and governance that is both accountable and transparent.

The three-day Dialogue fostered a shared understanding of the linkages among corruption, poverty and growth, and strengthened the case for further dialogue among African and Asian experts, academics and parliamentarians on these issues.

The Dialogue brought to light the concern that conventional methods of fighting corruption address only some of the multifaceted issues involved. In order to battle corruption successfully, there has to be political will and wholehearted support from all stakeholders, including citizens, civil society groups and all three branches of the state. Emphasis was also placed on the role of parliament in the PRSP cycle, not only in generating input, but also in the evaluation process, thereby ensuring that constituent concerns are addressed in issues of inequality.

The Dialogue was organized by the Parliamentary Centre and financed by the CIDA-funded Africa-Canada Parliamentary Strengthening Program and the Cambodia-Canada Legislative Support Project, and by the World Bank Institute.

Link to Report

The Role of Parliamentarians in HIV/AIDS Oversight

Third Africa-Canada Parliamentary Policy Dialogue (Saly, September 2005)

Dialogue participants gather together for a group photo in Saly

Africa-Canada Parliamentary Policy Dialogues bring together African and Canadian parliamentarians to examine issues of common concern. They are discussions among peers that tap into their expertise and foster relationships among them for ongoing exchange, all with the aim of improving parliamentary oversight in crucial areas of public policy.

Held again under the auspices of the Africa-Canada Parliamentary Strengthening Program (ACPSP), the 2005 Policy Dialogue took place in Saly, Senegal, where eight Canadian parliamentarians and thirteen African MPs from eight countries ( Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda) assembled to examine their roles in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Enriched by presentations from civil society and international agency representatives from Africa, Canada and Europe, the agenda included sessions on the changing dynamics of HIV/AIDS policies, on parliamentary experiences and opportunities, and on putting new knowledge into action. Participants discussed how they and their colleagues can pass rights-based legislation, mobilize resources, perform effective oversight, and engage communities at risk.

On the Dialogue’s second day, as part of an exercise in community outreach, participants visited the Thiès Regional Hospital and the Thiès Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). After the visits, participants reflected further on the need to focus not only on prevention and treatment, but also on long-term care for PLWHA.

As did participants at Africa-Canada Dialogues in Ottawa and in Naivasha, participants in Saly identified a series of cooperative activities on which to continue to work together. They reached consensus on needs such as: the development of a parliamentary network on HIV/AIDS in Africa, an investigation into the slow roll-out of generic antiretroviral drugs under Canadian provisions for export, and the establishment of twinning initiatives between constituencies in Canada and in African countries.

Link to Report

Sharing experiences of parliamentary oversight and poverty monitoring in Asia and Africa

Africa-Asia Parliamentary Dialogue (Cambodia, October 2004)

Community leaders and health providers exchange with African parliamentarians at a health clinic in the Dangkor District

The Africa-Asia Parliamentary Dialogue brought together six African MPs (from Ghana, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda), half a dozen Cambodian parliamentarians and one MP from India, one from Thailand and another from East Timor.

The Dialogue, which took place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, developed among participants a shared understanding of the concept of parliamentary oversight; reviewed experiences in Asia and Africa on the role of MPs in fostering accountability, particularly in relation to monitoring poverty reduction; and kick-started networking among African and Asian experts and parliamentarians on issues of governance and accountability.

Plenary sessions focused on sharing practices of parliamentary and civic engagement in monitoring public policies and poverty reduction. Discussions were spurred by keynote presentations by parliamentarians from Africa and Asia, as well as experts with long-standing engagement in issues of accountability and oversight. Two leading Cambodian NGOs organized field visits for the participants, the first to a health clinic in the Dangkor district to share experiences on urban poverty issues and second to rural poor in Muk Kampoul district in Kandal province to explore issues of sustainable livelihoods.

Upon their return from the field, participants developed a shared understanding of lessons learned and their implications for collaborative action in strengthening parliamentary oversight. They formulated recommendations concerning the role of parliamentarians in formulating poverty reduction strategies, scrutinizing project implementation, and collaborating with civil society groups. Sharing experiences in the use of monitoring in the performance of their oversight role provided parliamentarians from the two continents with greater knowledge of their colleagues’ accomplishments and of the challenges they face.

The Role of Parliamentarians in Corporate Social Responsibility

Second Africa-Canada Parliamentary Policy Dialogue (Naivasha, September 2004)

Homegrown Ltd employee explains packing process to African and Canadian parliamentarians

The Second Africa-Canada Dialogue was held in September 2004 near Naivasha, in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. Eighteen parliamentarians from Canada, Kenya, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe came together to discuss the role that African and Canadian parliamentarians can play in improving and promoting good corporate governance and social responsibility in the natural resources sector.

Presentations and briefing materials cast new light on the subject; field visits to two large-scale flower growing and exporting operations helped to demonstrate how companies are integrating CSR principles into their day-to-day business practices; and stimulating exchanges led to policy-relevant ideas for action for the Canadians and Africans involved.

There was consensus that all governments should be pushed to adopt the United Nations Global Compact and that international financial institutions should not impose on their support to countries conditions that run counter to CSR codes. There was also agreement that parliamentary action should be taken to table reports from the meeting, establish focal points within committee systems for ongoing CSR work, and highlight CSR issues through existing groups, such as the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association and the African Parliamentarians’ Network Against Corruption (APNAC).

Since the Naivasha Dialogue, African participants working within APNAC have shared experiences in monitoring corporate behaviour and have made presentations on CSR at international conferences. Canadian participants have spoken out on African issues, have demanded that the Canada Investment Fund for Africa only assist companies that respect the UN Global Compact, and have contributed substantially to reports on Africa and CSR produced respectively by Senate and House of Commons committees.

Link to Report

Sharing Policy Ideas about the New Partnership for Africa’s Development

Inaugural Africa-Canada Parliamentary Policy Dialogue ( Ottawa, September 2003)

Dialogue participants meet with the Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien, PC, MP

The 2003 Parliamentary Policy Dialogue between Canadian and African counterparts was the first of a series of sessions on cross-cutting issues that pertain to the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). Participants included African MPs from thirteen countries who met with Canadian MPs and Senators, representing all political parties in Parliament.

Organized by the Parliamentary Centre's Africa-Canada Parliamentary Strengthening Program, the Dialogue was held in September 2003 in Ottawa, Canada. The agenda focused on three specific policy questions:

• How can electoral reform help achieve gender equality?
• How can Canadian Parliamentarians best support Africans and African Parliaments in their process of building NEPAD successfully?
• What role can parliamentarians and parliaments play in improving peace and security?

The Dialogue strengthened relationships between peers on policy issues of crucial importance to both Canada and to African countries and gave encouragement to African parliamentarians as they wrestle with challenges related to poverty reduction, anti-corruption and gender equality, within the broader framework of NEPAD.

Topics for discussion were selected in consultation with both groups of participants from Canada and Africa and were based on the aims and planned results of the ACPSP.

Link to excerpt from ‘Poverty Reduction and Armed Conflict’ discussion group

For further information, please contact Ryan Barker.