Local Member of Parliament John Weston has been named chair of the Canada-Mexico Parliamentary Friendship Group, a committee of MPs and Senators that works with Mexican officials on issues of joint concern to the two countries.
The announcement of Weston's acclamation to the position came in a statement issued on Friday (Nov. 18) after a meeting of the group in Ottawa.
Weston on Thursday (Nov. 17) took part in a briefing from Canadian Foreign Affairs officials on the status of business, tourism, investment, security and criminal justice issues that affect relations between the two countries. Weston and other members of the Parliamentary Friendship group were set to take part in meetings with members of a visiting of Mexican legislators on Monday and Tuesday (Nov. 21 and 22).
"While there are lots of business and tourism reasons for me to step up Canada's relations with Mexico, I was especially spurred to act by the challenge of extricating innocent Canadians detained in Mexican jails," Weston said.
"I look forward to pursuing paths to increase the number of tourists from Mexico. One-point-six million Canadians go there each year, many from our area; 2,500 Canadian companies have invested about $5 billion, so there's much to discuss."
