Inspired Question · S4W-21768 · Session 4
What information it can provide regarding the Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games, Sport, Equalities and Pensioners' Rights’ visit to …
The question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it can provide regarding the Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games, Sport, Equalities and Pensioners' Rights’ visit to Canada.
The answer
I visited Canada from 27 April to 2 May 2014.
The visit programme was made up of meetings and engagements to strengthen business, education, cultural, tourism and government ties with Canada. Key engagements included welcoming the Queen’s baton to Canada on its journey round the Commonwealth, meetings with Federal and Provincial Ministers, and engaging with the Scottish Diaspora. I also undertook media interviews in Ottawa and Toronto, and this coverage of the visit helped position Scotland as a business and tourist destination.
There were a number of strategic aims to the visit, including: representing Scotland in welcoming the arrival of the Queen’s baton in Ottawa, and accompanying it on its journey to Toronto and Hamilton; highlighting the excellent preparations being made for Glasgow 2014, deepening the close relationships between Scotland and Canada at a federal and provincial level and developing policy links around physical activity, by engaging with the Canadian Government’s sport and physical activity agenda.
Key outcomes of the visit include renewed ties with the Federal Government, the Provincial Government of Ontario and the Canada-Scotland Parliamentary Friendship Group, the promotion of Scotland’s tourism opportunities and messages on Homecoming Scotland 2014, Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup; the development of the strong recognition in Ontario of Scotland’s historic relationship with Canada through celebration of our shared cultural heritage and the promotion of Scotland as a modern, dynamic nation, and a friend of Canada; and enhanced educational links between Scotland and Canada by raising the profile of the Scottish education sector and Scotland as a destination to live, learn and work.
In terms of my programme: I arrived in Ottawa on 27 April 2014, and the official visit began on 28 April 2014 with a meeting with the Honourable Dr Kelly Leitch, Federal Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women. Dr Leitch set out the Canadian Government’s priorities in respect to the status of women and reported progress around federal policy interventions. I spoke to the Scottish Government’s priorities and progress around the equalities agenda and committed to further developing links between Scotland and Canada in this area.
In the afternoon I was present for recognition in Parliament, before participating in and speaking at the first official Queen’s Baton Relay event which was held on the lawns of Parliament Hill. This event was also attended by the Federal Minister for Sport, Bal Gosal. I also spoke at a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association reception which followed the event, and in the evening attended and spoke at the Queen’s Baton Relay reception at the residence of the British High Commission, along with 100 attendees from the diplomatic community, cultural, sport and tourism sector.
On 29 April 2014, I met with the Honorable Bal Gosal, Federal Minister of State for Sport. We compared and discussed the similarities and differences in relation to the Canadian and Scottish sports systems. Mr Gosal was particularly interested in the Cashback initiative, the Better Movers and Thinkers Programme, and our physical activity implementation plan which draws considerably on the Toronto Charter. I also discussed the legacy programme and Scotland’s readiness to deliver a fantastic international sporting event in July 2014.
This was followed by a meeting with Christina Parsons who is on the board of the True Sport Foundation, a national charitable organisation that promotes values-driven sport. Doug MacQuarrie, Chief Operating Officer of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, was also in attendance. I discussed ways in which sport can be used to bring communities together, and how sport can be perceived as a public asset. I heard how the True Sport Foundation have engaged with local community foundations to connect sport and non-sport organisations to build social capital and community through values based
The visit programme was made up of meetings and engagements to strengthen business, education, cultural, tourism and government ties with Canada. Key engagements included welcoming the Queen’s baton to Canada on its journey round the Commonwealth, meetings with Federal and Provincial Ministers, and engaging with the Scottish Diaspora. I also undertook media interviews in Ottawa and Toronto, and this coverage of the visit helped position Scotland as a business and tourist destination.
There were a number of strategic aims to the visit, including: representing Scotland in welcoming the arrival of the Queen’s baton in Ottawa, and accompanying it on its journey to Toronto and Hamilton; highlighting the excellent preparations being made for Glasgow 2014, deepening the close relationships between Scotland and Canada at a federal and provincial level and developing policy links around physical activity, by engaging with the Canadian Government’s sport and physical activity agenda.
Key outcomes of the visit include renewed ties with the Federal Government, the Provincial Government of Ontario and the Canada-Scotland Parliamentary Friendship Group, the promotion of Scotland’s tourism opportunities and messages on Homecoming Scotland 2014, Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup; the development of the strong recognition in Ontario of Scotland’s historic relationship with Canada through celebration of our shared cultural heritage and the promotion of Scotland as a modern, dynamic nation, and a friend of Canada; and enhanced educational links between Scotland and Canada by raising the profile of the Scottish education sector and Scotland as a destination to live, learn and work.
In terms of my programme: I arrived in Ottawa on 27 April 2014, and the official visit began on 28 April 2014 with a meeting with the Honourable Dr Kelly Leitch, Federal Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women. Dr Leitch set out the Canadian Government’s priorities in respect to the status of women and reported progress around federal policy interventions. I spoke to the Scottish Government’s priorities and progress around the equalities agenda and committed to further developing links between Scotland and Canada in this area.
In the afternoon I was present for recognition in Parliament, before participating in and speaking at the first official Queen’s Baton Relay event which was held on the lawns of Parliament Hill. This event was also attended by the Federal Minister for Sport, Bal Gosal. I also spoke at a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association reception which followed the event, and in the evening attended and spoke at the Queen’s Baton Relay reception at the residence of the British High Commission, along with 100 attendees from the diplomatic community, cultural, sport and tourism sector.
On 29 April 2014, I met with the Honorable Bal Gosal, Federal Minister of State for Sport. We compared and discussed the similarities and differences in relation to the Canadian and Scottish sports systems. Mr Gosal was particularly interested in the Cashback initiative, the Better Movers and Thinkers Programme, and our physical activity implementation plan which draws considerably on the Toronto Charter. I also discussed the legacy programme and Scotland’s readiness to deliver a fantastic international sporting event in July 2014.
This was followed by a meeting with Christina Parsons who is on the board of the True Sport Foundation, a national charitable organisation that promotes values-driven sport. Doug MacQuarrie, Chief Operating Officer of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, was also in attendance. I discussed ways in which sport can be used to bring communities together, and how sport can be perceived as a public asset. I heard how the True Sport Foundation have engaged with local community foundations to connect sport and non-sport organisations to build social capital and community through values based
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S4W-21768 by reference.