23th April, 2002
Ministry of Law, Justice & Company Affairs  


INDIA-CANADA DISCUSS MATTERS OF MUTUAL INTEREST


The Minister of Inter-Governmental Affairs and Queen’s Privacy Council of Canada, H.E. Honstephane Dion called on the Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley here today and discussed with him matters of mutual interest between Canada and India. The range of discussions covered federalism, devolution of power from Centre to States and Panchayati Raj and the common problem that the two countries were facing at the federal level.

The Indian Law Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley said that polity of India was based on parliamentary democracy, federalism and decentralization wherein there were 3.5 million elected representatives administering the nation through four-tier Governments in the country. Now the emphasis was on more decentralization of power to the States, he added. The visiting Canadian Minister H.E. Honstephane Dion gave an overview of the workings of federalism and provinces in Canada and tried to establish a chord of similarity between the two nations. They exchanged thoughts and experience in the area of judicial administration and working of the federalism between the two nations.

The meeting, held in a cordial atmosphere, lasted half an hour.

 

 
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