Back-To-Back Ceremonies Held In Ottawa

The importance to Canada and global relevance of the Montréal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was recognized by all Members of Canada’s House of Commons and Senate yesterday, with the UN aviation body’s most senior officials being applauded by both Houses during special back-to-back ceremonies.

ICAO’s Council President, Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, current Secretary General, Raymond Benjamin, and Secretary General Designate, Fang Liu, were greeted and welcomed to Parliament Hill earlier in the day by the Speaker of the Canadian Senate, the Hon. Leo Housakos, and the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Hon. Andrew Scheer. The ICAO officials were later presented to the Upper House in the Governor General’s Gallery of the Senate in the early afternoon, and immediately afterwards in the official Gallery of the House of Commons. Ministerial discussions were conducted on the sidelines.
 
During the ceremonies and in speeches which followed during a Senate reception, ICAO’s significant importance to Montréal’s economy, international prestige, and profound importance to global air transport development were generously highlighted. On each occasion, Members of both Houses rose and applauded the guests, with the proceedings being televised coast-to-coast in Canada by its Parliamentary Television service.
 
“Canada has been ICAO’s host country ever since we began operating as an international institution, and it is indeed an honour to be able to express our Organization’s gratitude for the generosity and cooperation your country has shown us over some seven decades now,” commented President Aliu. “On behalf of ICAO and its Council, I am grateful to be able to express my deepest thanks for this great honour which has been bestowed upon us today, and for Canada’s historic commitment in the service of international civil aviation.”
 
“There are over 12,000 standards today in the Annexes to the Chicago Convention, helping States all over the world enjoy the economic benefits of safe and reliable air transport,” stressed Secretary General Benjamin. “None of this work would have been possible for ICAO to realize without the active participation of Canada as a Member State, and the significant donation of facilities and services which the Federal Government of Canada has so generously provided over the years.”
 
The ceremonies were subsequent to a tribute to ICAO by Canada’s Parliament late last year, on the occasion of the Organization’s 70th anniversary. The specialized UN aviation agency has been headquartered in Montréal since its establishment and it is the largest UN organization headquartered in Canada.

(Image: ICAO and Canadian Officials who participated in yesterday’s ceremonies, from left-to-right: The Hon. Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages; ICAO Secretary General, Raymond Benjamin; The Hon. Andrew Scheer, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons; ICAO Council President, Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu; The Hon. Leo Housakos, Speaker of the Senate; The Hon. Lisa Raitt, Canadian Minister of Transport; and ICAO Secretary General Designate, Dr. Fang Liu)

FMI: www.icao.int