Julie James MS, Counsel General and Minister for Delivery
In early February 2026, I led a Welsh delegation on a visit to Canada for a series of meetings in Ottawa and Fredericton (New Brunswick). The visit focused on a range of subjects, including the development of bilingual legislation, administering justice bilingually, bilingualism more generally, and strengthening central co-ordination and oversight functions within government.
The delegation included two Welsh judges, the Welsh Language Commissioner, and the Welsh Government’s First Legislative Counsel and Director of Legal Services. The delegation was supported by the International Relations North America and Canada team.
In many respects the visit involved reconsidering a number of lessons learned from Canadian officials and judges when a similar delegation visited Canada shortly after the creation of the then National Assembly. Some of the ways of working adopted by the Welsh Government, in particular in relation to the drafting of Welsh legislation, were based on what was learned then, especially from the Government of New Brunswick.
Meetings took place in Ottawa with the Canadian Office of the Legislative Counsel, the Federal Court and the University of Ottawa Law School, as well as being hosted on a visit to the Supreme Court by the Registrar of the Court. I also attended a meeting with senior officials from the Privy Counsel’s Office who fulfil important roles within the centre of the Canadian Federal Government, ensuring that the Prime Minister’s priorities are pursued and fulfilled.
In New Brunswick we attended a series of meetings organised by the Provincial Government and the Chief Justice, the Honourable Marc Richard. New Brunswick is a relatively small, bilingual province and the size of the government and wider administration (including of the courts) made it particularly interesting from a Welsh perspective. In addition, I had meetings with the Attorney General, members of the judiciary, the Commissioner for Official Languages, legal academics, and senior officials.
The delegation was welcomed by Robert Tinline, British High Commissioner to Canada, at his official residence in Ottawa, and by David Michael Jones, British Consul General, in Montréal. The International Relations team also met with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in Ottawa, who was also visiting Canada, to discuss opportunities for collaborative working between the UK and Welsh Government in Canada.
On behalf of the delegation, I would like to sincerely thank all of the Canadian politicians, judges and officials we met. Without exception they were very welcoming and generous with their time, in particular Chief Justice Richard who was central to securing meetings in New Brunswick and an informative programme at the federal level in Ottawa.
As well as developing a number of useful relationships with those who face similar working environments and challenges, a series of new lessons have been learned - and I know that all members of the delegation look forward to turning those into practice.