CANADIAN High Commissioner to Guyana Dr. Nicole Giles yesterday paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, and together they discussed ways in which to strengthen the relationship between the two countries. Sharing his views with media operatives, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo said the two countries will be focusing on strengthening their parliamentary procedures.
He noted, “We discussed areas of mutual interest in preparing for upcoming elections and the enhancement of our electoral democracy, issues of strengthening our Parliament in regards to what the general public expects.”
He said that with the help of the Canadian Government, Guyana will be able to deliver and enhance its laws to address a number of issues, particularly those dealing with electoral reforms.
High Commissioner Giles said, “From the Government of Canada’s perspective, it is incredibly useful to get a better understanding of the legislative priorities of the new Government moving forward, especially the legislative priorities that will be addressed prior to the summer recess.”
Dr. Giles explained that one of the issues that her Government is pleased about is that the new Government has placed much priority on the passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Bill. “The Government of Canada,” she said, “is pleased with the AML/CFT legislation being featured very prominently, and we can expect to see the passage of the AML/CFT Bill in the near future, which is, of course, in our view of paramount importance to not only Guyanese, but also to regional and hemispherical countries including Canada.
“We also had a discussion about a potential package of legislative reforms related to electoral reform.”
Noting, however, that the Canadian Government does have some reservations where the electoral system in Guyana is concerned, Dr. Giles said:
“This would not come as a surprise to anyone that Canada has some ongoing concerns related to lack of guidelines and legislation for the use of State resources in the electoral period, and equitable access to the State media and having suitable enforcement for the Codes of Conduct that are signed by the political parties, media as well as significant issues related to campaigning and financing and how are results transmitted and tabulated.”
She nevertheless commended the new Government for stepping in the right direction to formally correct some of the issues discussed. “It seems that the new Government is on the case and is looking at these issues very carefully so we will be looking forward to see the package that is brought forward,” Dr. Giles said, adding:
“Another key area of discussion is the Local Government Elections (LGE) and now that we have had the general and regional elections take place, we very much look forward to see LGE take place in 2015 and of course the Government of Canada would be looking to provide support to the people of Guyana in the holding of those elections in the very near future,”
In conclusion, Dr. Giles urged the Prime Minister to keep up the good work he has started.

By Rebecca Ganesh