COPANT 2002 Assembly

2002-06-07

In 2002, the COPANT Assembly met in Canada: part of Canadian efforts to strengthen ties with other standardization bodies, encourage international harmonization and minimize barriers to trade.

From May 15 to May 17, 2002, the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) hosted a meeting of the Pan American Standards Commission (known as the COPANT 2002 Assembly) at the Delta Chelsea Hotel in Toronto, Ontario. The event is one of SCC's hosting commitments in fiscal year 2002-2003 and is part of Canadian efforts to strengthen ties with other standardization bodies, encourage international harmonization and minimize barriers to trade.

As part of the three-day Assembly, a seminar day was held on May 16 on the topic of "Harmonization, Trade and the FTAA: Opportunities and Issues". Representatives from industry and government, as well as, the SCC covered a range of related topics and perspectives.

The COPANT board meeting was held prior to the Assembly, and on May 17th elections were held for key positions, including that of President. The new COPANT president for the 2003-2005 period is Carlos Rodriguez of Costa Rica.

Delegates from 20 COPANT member countries and 4 liaison member countries were represented at the event, with approximately 75 delegates attending the plenary sessions and an average of 90 people at the seminar day.

The event participants were able to strengthen existing relationships, develop new ones, and gain a greater understanding of the work of other COPANT members. Likewise, the seminar day was well received by all attendees.

COPANT (http://www.copant.org) is a civil, non-profit association that promotes the development of technical standardization and related activities in its 31 member countries. Each of these member countries participates in an effort to facilitate co-operation in social, industrial, scientific and technological development. COPANT devises standards of interest to countries that have not been developed by recognized international agencies. The Standards Council represents Canada internationally as an active member of COPANT