The security and defense sector is certainly one of the most important, especially in a country that has been at war for eight years. Therefore, the Agency for Legislative Initiatives is trying its best to familiarize parliamentarians and staff of the secretariats of the Verkhovna Rada Committees with new tools and methods for reforming the sector.
Last week, as part of the Parliamentary Accountability of the Security Sector in Ukraine (PASS Ukraine) project, the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, in partnership with the Parliamentary Center (Canada), held a training seminar on “Legislative and Regulatory Impact Assessment and its Application in the Security Sector Reform Legislation and defense”.
Members of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, and the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the European Union were invited to participate in the seminar. Staff from the secretariats of the above-mentioned committees were also invited.
The purpose of the training seminar was to familiarize MPs, committee members, and their staff with Canadian and international experience in assessing legislative and regulatory impact and its application in the legislative process of security and defense sector reform, including assessing the different effects of legislation on women and men.
Nicola Kim, First Secretary, Embassy of Canada in Ukraine, made a welcoming speech at the opening of the training seminar.
The speakers of the training seminar were Canadian experts with many years of experience in regulatory and legislative influence:
- Daniel Trnka, Deputy Head, Regulatory Policy Division, Public Governance Directorate, Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD);
- Rick Stewart, Executive Director of the Regulatory Governance Initiative (RGI) and Co-Director of the Career Development for Regulatory Professionals (CDRP) Program in the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University, Ottawa;
- Michael Presley, Director, Certificate Program in Regulatory Leadership, Centre for Public Management and Policy, University of Ottawa; Former Assistant Deputy Minister (Regulatory Affairs) at the Treasury Board Secretariat, Canada.
- About the experience and practice of Ukraine in applying legislative and regulatory impact assessment in the legislative process, participants were told by Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, MP, Chairwoman, Verkhovna Rada Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the European Union, Member of the Interparliamentary Relations Group with Canada.
The seminar was held in an unusual format – combining offline and online, which allowed to simultaneously engage Canadian partners who shared their experiences and establish communication between members of different committees.
As part of the project, we plan to hold more such meetings in order to continue involving MPs and Canadian partners in close cooperation in various formats.
The Parliamentary Accountability of the Security Sector in Ukraine (PASS Ukraine) project is a joint project of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives and the Parliamentary Center (Canada), supported by the Canadian Ministry of International Affairs under the Peacebuilding and Stabilization Program (PSOPs) and in partnership with the Verkhovna Rada Of Ukraine.
