The Speaker of the House of Keys, the Hon Juan Watterson SHK, has said that attending the 65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) in Canada provided a valuable opportunity ‘to maximise the impact’ of Tynwald and the Isle of Man. 

CPA Small Branches ​delegates gather at the opening of the conference Mr Speaker, who was accompanied by Mr Rob Callister MHK and Mr Peter Greenhill MLC, attended in his capacity as vice-chairman of the Small Branches of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA). The Tynwald Members were supported by Deputy Clerk of Tynwald, Joann Corkish. ​

The conference was hosted by the CPA Canada Region in Halifax, Nova Scotia between August 20 and 26 and brought together more than 600 parliamentarians and parliamentary clerks from around the Commonwealth. 

The theme for the conference was: ‘Inclusive, Accessible, Accountable and Strong Parliaments: The Cornerstone of Democracy and Essential for Development’.

Mr Speaker, who will remain on the Small Branches executive until 2023, said that that the CPC saw the Small Branches population threshold increased to include branches where the population served numbered one million or fewer. Additionally, the Small Branches network had updated its terms of reference and facilitated clerk exchanges and a conference at the United Nations on climate change negotiations. Small branches face a lot of common issues, and maximising the effect of ideas and resources is critical for this group.

He continued: ‘I was one of three candidates for CPA treasurer, Although ultimately I was not appointed, the election process provided me with an opportunity to raise the profile of the Isle of Man and fly the flag at the highest level of the organisation.’

The conference included sessions on continuing professional development (CPD), leading Mr Speaker to comment: ‘Having started a CPD series in the last House, there was real interest in developing curriculums and skills and qualifications that will be useful to Members during their time in politics, as well as afterwards.’

An opportunity afforded to Mr Speaker, in his capacity as Commonwealth Association of Public Accounts Committee Treasurer, was to talk to McGill University academic leaders who provide research into financial management; also to be present at the launch of the Handbook on Parliamentary Oversight, to which the Isle of Man contributed.

Turning to other networking opportunities Mr Speaker said: ‘As PAC chair I talked to PAC Members from other jurisdictions, such as Australian Capital Territory, on their practices and development. I also took the opportunity to compare notes on housing and cost of living issues with colleagues from Jersey and Guernsey and I also attended a Commonwealth Women Parliamentary seminar on gender-sensitive parliaments.’ 

Climate change was a dominant theme said Mr Speaker, adding: ‘The participation of the Small Branches network by a delegation which I led in November 2021 to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) was favourably received.’ (For more on this see YouTube.)

Further value from the conference was gained with Mr Speaker strengthening relationships with Westminster parliamentarians and those from the wider British Islands and Mediterranean Regions, also with the Speakers network, including Speaker Farrugia from Malta and Speakers Rota and Furey from the Federal Parliament of Canada. Mr Speaker also took the opportunity to renew links and historic ties with Speaker Cooper from Alberta whom he had been pleased to welcome to the Island earlier this year. 

Mr Speaker has since been invited to participate in producing CPA training materials for Speakers and Presiding Officers, as well as providing a foreword for a book on public financial scrutiny.

Reflecting on the conference Mr Speaker said: ‘We are conscious as a parliament that there is a value in participating at an international level. It is not always an easy to draw a direct line between participation in conferences and the ultimate benefit to constituents. As such, the Isle of Man goes the extra mile at conferences to maximise the impact we have.  The Isle of Man is highly regarded in the Commonwealth for our energetic, proactive and well-informed contributions on a number of subjects that have led to study visits from other jurisdictions.’

Echoing Mr Speaker’s observations, Mr Callister said: ‘From my perspective, it was a genuine privilege to represent Tynwald at the 65th Commonwealth Conference. Most of my time was taken up attending the 38th CPA Small Branches Conference, which was being held under the theme “resilience and preparedness”. There were various workshops that looked at “disaster risk preparedness in small jurisdictions”, “sustainable economies in small branches” and “scrutiny, oversight and accountability of small parliaments”. 

‘It really was a unique opportunity as a Member of the House of Keys to join more than 600 other parliamentarians from across the Commonwealth and to take part in a series of workshops, plenary sessions, regional conferences, steering committee meetings, elections, presentations and AGMs. In short, it was a fascinating event to be part of.’ 

Mr Greenhill said: ‘The conference was an excellent opportunity to share experiences with Members from around the world. It enabled us to discuss in workshops and face to face how countries were dealing with the effects on all of us of global issues such as Covid, climate change and the war in Ukraine. One of the clearest lessons that I have brought back to the Isle of Man is that all nations, no matter their size and population, are experiencing the same problems such as skill shortages, inflation and fuel poverty. Halifax was an excellent home to have valuable exchanges on how to cope with these issues and explore the potential for cooperation.’ 

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Joann Corkish
Deputy Clerk of Tynwald
Legislative Buildings
Douglas IM1 3PW
Tel: 01624 685511
j.corkish@tynwald.org.im