At the beginning of April, a delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine made a study visit to Canada to learn about the experience in areas related to the sustainable operation of the parliament.
The status of parliamentary staff, its similarities and differences with the public service, work with parliamentarians, issues of the Rules of Procedure for plenary and committee meetings, tools and processes used for translation of documents and ongoing work — during the visit, many thematic meetings and trainings were held for the representatives of the Verkhovna Rada. Canada is currently preparing for a parliamentary election, so it is a very valuable opportunity to see how similar processes are carried out in another country.
It is important for Ukraine to maintain the sustainability of its institutions, and the visit focused on aspects of business continuity of the Parliament. This remains a priority due to the numerous security challenges faced by the Ukrainian parliament during martial law. The work of the parliament did not stop even during the most critical period — the beginning of the full-scale invasion of russia. The Verkhovna Rada was able to adapt and develop organisational processes under martial law, which is undoubtedly an important step for institutional development. Therefore, including within the framework of the PASS Ukraine project, documents and plans to ensure the continuity of the Verkhovna Rada’s activities have already been developed and are in the process of implementation and adoption.
In the context of parliamentary reform and the need to balance competing demands, the Ukrainian delegation gained valuable experience from Canadian colleagues in legislative and research support for parliamentarians, as well as professional training programs for parliamentary staff. The topics of the visit were based on the requests and challenges for the Verkhovna Rada: the continuation of parliamentary reform, Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, and russian aggression against Ukraine. All these topics remain extremely relevant for improving various aspects of parliamentary work, especially in wartime.
The visit took place as part of the “Parliamentary Accountability of the Security Sector in Ukraine” (PASS Ukraine) project, which the Agency is implementing in partnership with the Parliamentary Centre (Canada) in cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and with the support of Global Affairs Canada under the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program (PSOPs).
