Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada visits Parliament

The Speaker of the House of Commons Canada the Hon. Gregory Fergus visited the Parliament of Grenada and paid a courtesy call to Prime Minister Hon. Dickon Mitchell on Thursday, 6 March, after meeting with the Speaker of the Grenada House of Representatives Hon. Leo Cato, and Senate President Hon. Dr Dessima Williams.

Speaker Fergus, who is of West Indian parentage, expressed support for the work of the Grenada Parliament and noted that parliaments remain in an ongoing stage of development. Representatives of the 2 Commonwealth countries exchanged views concerning how speakers are selected, the need to end exclusion of any category of persons, the good that parliaments can achieve, and the strengthening of bilateral ties.

During the meeting with the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House, Fergus heaped praises on Grenadian-born Jean Augustine, the first Black person elected as a Member of Parliament in Canada and the first Black female to serve in the Federal Canadian Cabinet. There are at least 13,000 Grenadians who have made Canada their home. The State of Grenada has always maintained good relations with the North American country and looks forward to future opportunities to deepen our partnership.

During the courtesy call with the Canadian Speaker, Prime Minister Hon. Dickon Mitchell expressed the need for greater collaboration between Grenada and Canada, stating: “We need to continue working with Canada, specifically in the areas of retooling the education system within the Caribbean. Skills training, cybersecurity, and healthcare are high on the government’s agenda, and we can certainly benefit from collaboration with the Canadian government.”

Speaker Fergus also visited with young women who were trained for leadership in the Canadian-funded Young Women in Leadership programme (YWiL). Thanking the programme for sharpening their gender understanding, speaking skills, and networking with other young rising leaders, they called for a continuation of the programme.

The Speaker, also an elected Member of Parliament (MP), was given a tour of the Chamber and other parts of the Parliament building and was taken on a tour of the capital, St George’s.

Prime Minister’s Office