Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) today announced his appointment by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group – an organization which aims to promote dialogue between U.S. Congress and Canada’s Parliament.

Last week, Larsen met with members of the Canadian Parliament to discuss U.S.-Canada economic ties. According to the U.S. Department of State, each day nearly 400,000 people cross the U.S.-Canada border and more than $1.8 billion in goods and services are traded between the two countries. In 2016, Washington state exported $6.9 billion worth of goods to Canada. 

“Canada is one of America’s closest allies and one of NATO’s strongest partners, making the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group an important tool for strengthening those critical relationships,” said Larsen. “I look forward to serving with my American and Canadian colleagues to tackle challenges and seize opportunities important to citizens on both sides of our shared border.”

Larsen has a strong track record of working with Canada. During Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to the U.S. last year, Larsen advocated for a variety of issues critical to the Pacific Northwest, including pushing to end a British Columbia water treatment facility’s dumping of raw sewage into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Since 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has protected the freedom and security of its members, a coalition of 28 independent countries. Last year, Larsen reaffirmed the U.S.’ commitment to NATO after President Trump questioned America’s commitment to defending NATO allies.

The U.S. and Canada also both sit on the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental body that promotes collaboration among Arctic nations. As co-chair of the House Arctic Working Group, Larsen has been one of the House’s leading voices on Arctic issues and advocating for the U.S. to strengthen its fleet of polar icebreakers. In recent years, Larsen has called for a number of Government Accountability Office studies regarding the Arctic, including a report which revealed the U.S. is significantly under-resourced in terms of policies and strategies related to the Arctic.

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