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Civil Society and Parliamentary Participation

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• Multisectoral Meeting on
  the Fourth Summit of
  the Americas
  (September 2005)

The Government of Canada firmly believes that all sectors of society should be engaged in the hemispheric process. This includes action groups, volunteer organizations, academics, indigenous peoples, non-governmental organizations, non-profit organizations, unions and the business community. The Government's policy of openness and transparency with civil society groups helps facilitate dialogue on Summit objectives and common issues affecting all citizens of the hemisphere.

Foreign Affairs Canada ensures that civil society's voice is heard by:

Canada has long played a leading role in the Americas in advocating the participation of civil society organizations in the Summit of the Americas process. Several international consultative events took place in 2005 to engage civil society organizations in the preparation of the Fourth Summit of the Americas agenda, Declaration and Plan of Action.

In early 2005, the Government of Argentina announced a series of eight thematic forums to be held in the lead-up to the Summit. These forums focus on key issues related to the Summit. The resulting discussions between experts, civil society and government representatives will help inform the Summit process.

The themes include: gender, labour, young entrepreneurs, human rights, children and youth, indigenous peoples and small and medium enterprises. The last forum to be held in preparation for the Summit is the 2nd Indigenous Peoples' Summit of the Americas October 27-29, 2005 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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