Commonwealth trade, as such, has not been a notable

Commonwealth trade, as such, has not been a notable policy position in Canada since the failed Diefenbaker proposal of the 1950s. Instead Canada has pursueddeep economic integration with the United States and on the one hand (including a free trade agreement in 1988), HP Pavilion dv7-2130ev CPU Fan and a generalised diversification of trade on the other hand including the "third option" policy of the 1970 (a failed attempt to diversify Canada's trade via negotiations with Japan and the European Economic Community). This has been reinforced with a a new wave of free trade agreements following NAFTA in 1994, HP 608772-001 CPU Fan including five Latin American countries and the European Free Trade Association, as well the failed Free Trade Area of the Americas in the early 2000s, and negotiations towards the Trans-Pacific Partnership since 2012. As of 2013, 75% of Canadian trade takes place with countries which Canada has a free trade agreement, Toshiba Satellite A100-194 CPU Fan but this does not include any Commonwealth members. As of 2013 Canada is currently is in negotiations with the Caribbean Community (primarily Commonwealth countries), the European Union (UK and Cyprus are Commonwealth members), as well as India and Singapore. HP Pavilion tx1205/ CT CPU Fan Although the terms of Britain's membership in the European Union precludes it from unilaterally negotiating for a CFTA, the idea has garnered interest. In particular, those politicians and parties that advocate leaving the European Union cite the development of a Commonwealth Free Trade policy as a first step. HP Pavilion dv6640ep CPU Fan The UK Independence Party has included a call for a Commonwealth Free Trade Agreement in its policy manifesto during the 2010 British General Election.^[7] In addition, some members of Britain’s Conservative Party, including MEP Daniel Hannan and MP Andrew Rosindell, have written extensively on the merits of expanding trade within the Commonwealth and the broader Anglosphere. COMPAQ Presario CQ42-401TU CPU Fan On October 8, 2012, Tim Hewish and James Styles released their paper "Common Trade, Common Wealth, Common Growth"^[8] at the UK Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, England. The following day saw British Foreign Secretary William Hague comment upon how the Commonwealth, Toshiba Satellite A300D CPU Fan which had been 'neglected' by previous UK governments, presented "enormous opportunities" for the nation.Support for Commonwealth Free Trade is generally greatest among those in support of centre-right political and economic movements. Commonwealth Free Traders are often also supporters of the Anglosphere movement, although many are not, citing a CFTA as a possible ‘counterbalance’ to US hegemony. HP Pavilion dv8397ea CPU  Fan In Canada there is little popular feeling for the Commonwealth, and it is not celebrated by the government^[10] and commentators have called for the institution to be wound up^[11] Commentators such as James C. Bennett and Brent Cameron have expressed the view that support for either the Anglosphere or the Commonwealth are not incompatible. HP Pavilion dv9821ea CPU Fan Cameron has explained that as the Commonwealth forms a unique subset within the Anglosphere, support for either concept is not mutually exclusive, and his work on a CFTA should be seen as promoting economic co-operation among those particular nations. The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. HP COMPAQ TC4200 CPU Fan It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM); assisting and advising on policy development; and providing assistance to countries in implementing the decisions and policies of the Commonwealth.^[1] SONY Vaio VGN-NW228F CPU Fan The Secretariat has observer status in the United Nations General Assembly. It is located at Marlborough House in London, the United Kingdom, a former royal palace that was given by Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth The Secretariat was established by Heads of Government in 1965, HP G62-b16ST CPU Fan taking over many of the functions of the United Kingdom Government's Commonwealth Relations Office, as part of a major shake-up of the organisation of the Commonwealth. At the same time, the United Kingdom succeeded in advocating the creation of the Secretariat's sister organisation, HP 580696-001 CPU Fan theCommonwealth Foundation was founded to foster non-governmental relations and the promotion of the Commonwealth Familynetwork of civil societies.^[2] Other attempts by members to create similar central bodies, such as a medical conference (proposed by New Zealand), a development bank (Jamaica), and an institution for satellite communications (Canada) failed.^[2] HP Pavilion dv6-3049tx CPU Fan The creation of the Secretariat itself was a contentious issue. The United Kingdom and other long-established countries had hoped to slow the tide of expansion of Commonwealth membership to prevent the dilution of their traditional power within the Commonwealth (particularly after the admission of Cyprus).^[2] HP G42-380LA CPU Fan This may have involved a dual-tiered Commonwealth, requiring the continuation of the organisation of Commonwealth co-operation by meetings, rather than a central administration. However, the new African members were keener to create an independent inter-governmental 'central clearing house' (as Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah described it) Toshiba Qosmio G30-167 CPU Fan to remove power from the older dominions.^[2] Milton Obote of Uganda was the first to propose a specifically titled 'secretariat', which was then formally proposed by Eric Williams of Trinidad and Tobago, who wished to see it based upon the secretariats of the OAS, EEC, and OAU.^[2] Earlier attempts at the formation of a central secretariat had been made and failed. HP Pavilion dv7-1157cl CPU Fan Australia had proposed the establishment four times (in 1907, 1924, 1932, and 1944), whilst New Zealand had also made proposals in 1909 and 1956. The chief executive of the Secretariat, and of the Commonwealth as a whole, is the Commonwealth Secretary-General.^[3] All Secretariat staff report to the secretary-general, who is also responsible for spending the Secretariat's budget, Compaq Presario CQ40-408AX CPU Fan which is granted by the Heads of Government. It is the secretary-general, and not the ceremonial Head of the Commonwealth, that represents the Commonwealth publicly. The secretary-general is elected by the Heads of Government at theCommonwealth Heads of Government meetings for terms of four years; HP Mini 110-1110ET CPU Fan previously, until 2000, a term was five years. The current secretary-general India's Kamalesh Sharma, who replaced Don McKinnon as secretary-general on 1 April 2008.^[4] The secretary-general is assisted by two deputy secretaries-general: one responsible for economic affairs (currently Ransford Smith of Jamaica) and one for political affairs (Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba of Botswana). HP Pavilion dv7-1157cl CPU Fan He is also assisted by an assistant secretary-general for corporate affairs Stephen Cutts. There are ten directors from the Commonwealth Secretariat. The secretary-general may appoint junior staff at his own discretion, provided the Secretariat can afford it, whilst the more senior staff may be appointed only from a shortlist of nominations from the Heads of Government.^[5] HP Pavilion dv6-3163eo CPU Fan In practice, the secretary-general has more power than this; member governments consult the secretary-general on nominations, and the secretary-general has also at times submitted nominations of his own.^[5] All members of staff are exempt from income tax, under the International Organisations Act 2005, which redefined the legal status of the Secretariat. HP Pavilion dv9740us CPU Fan The Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House, in London, the United Kingdom.^[6] Marlborough House is located on Pall Mall, Westminster, next to St. James's Palace, which is formally the location of the British Royal Court. Marlborough House was previously a royal palace in its own right, HP COMPAQ NX9420 CPU Fan but was given byQueen Elizabeth II, the Head of the Commonwealth, to the British government in September 1959 for use for Commonwealth purposes. This was first realised three years later. Another three years later, in 1965, the building passed to the Secretariat upon its foundation.^[6] HP Pavilion dv7-4150ec CPU Fan The building itself was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and served as the London residence of the dukes of Marlborough until it was given to Princess Charlotte in 1817.^[6] The Commonwealth Secretariat Act 1966, which applied retroactively from the establishment of the Secretariat in 1965, first granted the organisation fulldiplomatic immunity. HP Pavilion dv5-1102tu CPU Fan This has been subjected to a number of lawsuits challenging this, including Mohsin v Commonwealth Secretariat, and in 2005, Sumukan Limited v Commonwealth Secretariat. The 1966 Act had been interpreted by English courts as allowing the courts to exercise supervisory jurisdiction under theArbitration Act 1996 over the Commonwealth's arbitration tribunal, SONY VGN-SZ220 CPU Fan which had been envisaged as the sole organ to arbitrate on matters related to the Secretariat's operations in the United Kingdom.^[7] In light of this interpretation, the Commonwealth Secretariat Act was amended by the International Organisations Act 2005, which gave the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal the same legal immunity as the Secretariat itself, HP Pavilion dv7-6011tx CPU Fan guaranteeing independence of the English courts. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; /ˈtʃɒɡ(ə)m/ or /ˈtʃoʊm/) is a biennialsummit meeting of the heads of government from all Commonwealth nations. Every two years the meeting is held in a different member state, and is chaired by that nation's respective Prime Minister or President, who becomes the Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office. HP Pavilion dv5-1040eb CPU Fan Queen Elizabeth II, who is the Head of the Commonwealth, has attended every CHOGM beginning with Ottawa in 1973,^[1]although her formal participation only began in 1997.^[2] However, she will be represented by thePrince of Wales at the 2013 meeting as the 87-year-old monarch is curtailing her overseas travel.^[1] ASUS F3Jv CPU Fan The first CHOGM was held in 1971, and there have been twenty-one held in total: the most recent was held in Perth, Western Australia. They are held once every two years, although this pattern has twice been interrupted. They are held around the Commonwealth, rotating by invitation amongst its members. IBM ThinkPad R50p 2887 CPU Fan In the past, CHOGMs have attempted to orchestrate common policies on certain contentious issues and current events, with a special focus on issues affecting member nations. CHOGMs have discussed the continuation of apartheid rule in South Africa and how to end it, military coups in Pakistan andFiji, and allegations of electoral fraud in Zimbabwe. SONY VGN-CS36GJ/R CPU Fan Sometimes the member states agree on a common idea or solution, and release a joint statement declaring their opinion. More recently, beginning at the 1997 CHOGM, the meeting has had an official 'theme', set by the host nation, on which the primary discussions have been focused. The meetings originated with the leaders of the self-governing colonies of the British Empire.^[ Toshiba Satellite A215-S4807 CPU Fan ^4] The First Colonial Conference in 1887 was followed by periodic meetings, known as Imperial Conferences from 1907, of government leaders of the Empire. The development of the independence of the dominions, and the creation of a number of new dominions, as well as the invitation of Southern Rhodesia (which also attended as a sui generis colony),^[5] Toshiba Satellite Pro M10-SP405 CPU Fan changed the nature of the meetings.^[4] As the dominion leaders asserted themselves more and more at the meetings, it became clear that the time for 'imperial' conferences was over. From the ashes of the Second World War, seventeen Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conferences were held between 1944 and 1969. HP Pavilion dv4-1120us CPU Fan Of these, sixteen were held in London, reflecting then-prevailing views of the Commonwealth as the continuation of the Empire and the centralisation of power in the British Commonwealth Office (the one meeting outside London, in Lagos, was an extraordinary meeting held in January 1966 to co-ordinate policies towards Rhodesia). Compaq Presario C550EM CPU Fan Two supplementary meetings were also held during this period: a Commonwealth Statesmen's meeting to discuss peace terms in April 1945, and a Commonwealth Economic Conference in 1952. The 1960s saw an overhaul of the Commonwealth. Toshiba Qosmio E15-AV101 CPU Fan The swift expansion of the Commonwealth after decolonisation saw the newly independent countries demand the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the United Kingdom, in response, successfully founding the Commonwealth Foundation.^[6] This decentralisation of power demanded a reformulation of the meetings. Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4056 CPU Fan Instead of the meetings always being held in London, they would rotate across the membership, subject to countries' ability to host the meetings: beginning with Singapore in 1971. They were also renamed the 'Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings' to reflect the growing diversity of the constitutional structures in the Commonwealth. Toshiba Satellite A305-S6837 CPU Fan The core of the CHOGM are the executive sessions, which are the formal gatherings of the heads of government to do business. However, the majority of the important decisions are held not in the main meetings themselves, but at the informal 'retreats': introduced at the second CHOGM, in Ottawa, by Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau,^[7] HP Pavilion dv7-4087cl CPU Fan but reminiscent of the excursions to Chequers or Dorneywood in the days of the Prime Ministers' Conferences.^[4] The rules are very strict: allowing the head of the delegation, his or her spouse, and one other person. The additional member can be of any capacity (personal, political, security, etc.), but he or she has only occasional and intermittent access to the head.^[4] HP Pavilion dv5-1118es CPU Fan It is usually at the retreat where, isolated from their advisers, the heads resolve the most intransigent issues: leading to the Gleneagles Agreement in 1977, the Lusaka Declaration in 1979, the Langkawi Declaration in 1989, theMillbrook Programme in 1995, and the Aso Rock Declaration in 2003.^[4] Toshiba Satellite A665-S6050 CPU Fan The 'fringe' of civil society organisations, including the Commonwealth Family and local groups, adds a cultural dimension to the event, and brings the CHOGM a higher media profile and greater acceptance by the local population.^[7] First officially recognised at Limassol in 1993,^[4] these events, spanning a longer period than the meeting itself, have, HP Pavilion G72-259WM CPU Fan to an extent, preserved the length of the CHOGM: but only in the cultural sphere.^[7] Other meetings, such as those of theCommonwealth Ministerial Action Group, Commonwealth Business Council, and respective foreign ministers, have also dealt with business away from the heads of government themselves. HP Pavilion dv6-3109ca  CPU  Fan As the scope of the CHOGM has expanded beyond the meetings of the heads of governments themselves, the CHOGMs have become progressively shorter, and their business more compacted into less time.^[7] The 1971 CHOGM lasted for nine days, and the 1977 and 1991 CHOGMs for seven days each. However, Harare's epochal CHOGM was the last to last a week; HP Pavilion dv6782eg CPU Fan the 1993 CHOGM lasted for five days, and the contentious 1995 CHOGM for only three-and-a-half.^[4] The 2005 and subsequent conferences were held over two days. During the 1980s, CHOGMs were dominated by calls for the Commonwealth to impose sanctions on South Africa to pressure the country to end apartheid. SONY UDQF2PH52CF0 CPU Fan The division between the United Kingdom during the government of Margaret Thatcher which resisted the call for sanctions and African Commonwealth countries was intense at times and led to speculation that the organisation might collapse. In 2011, British Prime Minister David Cameron informed the British House of Commons that his proposals to reform the rules governing royal succession, Toshiba UDQFRPH33CCM CPU Fan a change which would require the approval of all Commonwealth realms, was approved at the 28–30 October CHOGM in Perth, subsequently referred to as the Perth Agreement. As the convocation of heads of governments and permanent Commonwealth staff and experts, CHOGMs are the highest institution of action in the Commonwealth, and rare occasions on which Commonwealth leaders all come together. Toshiba Satellite A505-S6980 CPU Fan CHOGMs have been the venues of many of the Commonwealth's most dramatic events. Robert Mugabeannounced Zimbabwe's immediate withdrawal from the Commonwealth at the 2003 CHOGM,^[10] and Nigeria's execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others on the first day of the 1995 CHOGM led to that country's suspension.^[7] HP Pavilion dv7-2025es CPU Fan It has also been the trigger of a number of events that have shook participating countries domestically. The departure of Uganda's President Milton Obote to the1971 CHOGM allowed Idi Amin to overthrow Obote's government. Similarly, President James Mancham's attendance of the 1977 CHOGM gave Prime Minister France-Albert René the opportunity to seize power in the Seychelles. TOSHIBA Satellite L300 CPU Fan The Head of the Commonwealth is the symbolic pinnacle and "symbol of the free association of [the] independent member nations" of the Commonwealth of Nations, an intergovernmental organisation which currently comprises 53 sovereign states. The role of the Head of the Commonwealth itself involves no part in the day-to-day governance of any of the member states within the Commonwealth of Nations. HP G62-a10EJ CPU Fan At present, the position is occupied by Queen Elizabeth II, who also serves as monarch of each of the 16 members of the Commonwealth of Nations that are, as such, called the Commonwealth realms. The title was created due to India's desire to become a republic but not depart the Commonwealth of Nations; Dell MF60100V1-Q000-G99 CPU Fan King George VI was thus the first Head of the Commonwealth. There is no agreement concerning whether the office will pass to Elizabeth's heir, along with her other offices. The title was devised in the London Declaration as a result of discussions at the 1949 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference,^[1] but was not added to the monarch's style until 1953. DELL R859C CPU Fan In that year, a Royal Style and Titles Act was passed separately in each of the seven Commonwealth realms then existing (except Pakistan), which gave formal recognition to the separateness and the equality of the realms by entitling the Queen as Queen of [Realm] and her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth. Toshiba Satellite A105-S2101 CPU Fan The role of the Head of the Commonwealth is recognised by the members of the Commonwealth as the "symbol of their free association". Elizabeth II serves as a leader, with assistants that play key roles, such as the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office. SONY Vaio VGN-FW140E CPU Fan The Head of the Commonwealth or a representative (such as Charles, Prince of Wales) attends the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), held at locations throughout the Commonwealth, a tradition begun by the monarch on the advice of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1973,^[3] when the first CHOGM was held on Canadian soil. ACER Aspire 5730Z CPU Fan During the summit, the Head of the Commonwealth has a series of private meetings with Commonwealth countries' leaders, attends a CHOGM reception and dinner, and makes a general speech. The Queen or a representative is also present at the quadrennial Commonwealth Games and on everyCommonwealth Day, the second Monday in March, broadcasts a message to all member countries. SONY Vaio VPC-EB4S1E/WI CPU Fan The London Declaration of 1949, devised by Canadian prime minister Louis St. Laurent, stated that King George VI, as the symbol of the free association of the countries of the Commonwealth, is the Head of the Commonwealth.^[4] Both republics and kingdoms that are not Commonwealth realms can recognise the monarch as Head of the Commonwealth without accepting the person as the country's head of state. HP Pavilion dv9580ed CPU Fan When India adopted a republican constitution on 26 January 1950, it recognised George VI as the symbol of the association but no longer as India's monarch. Elizabeth II became Head of the Commonwealth when she ascended to the throne in 1952. On her accession, she announced "[t]he Commonwealth bears no resemblance to the empires of the past. Toshiba Satellite L305D-S5934 CPU Fan It is an entirely new conception built on the highest qualities of the spirit of man: friendship, loyalty, and the desire for freedom and peace."^[5] In December 1960, the Queen had a personal flag created to symbolise her as Head of the Commonwealth and not associated with her role as queen of any particular country. SONY Vaio VGN-CR31S/P CPU Fan Over time, the flag has replaced the British Royal Standard when the Queen visits Commonwealth countries of which she is not head of state (and thus does not possess a unique royal standard for that state), and on Commonwealth occasions in the United Kingdom. HP Pavilion dv5-1210et CPU Fan When the Queen visits the headquarters of theCommonwealth Secretariat in London, this personal standard—not any of her royal standards—is raised. HP Envy 15 CPU Fan,HP Pavilion dv7-1190er CPU Fan,HP Pavilion dv6-3385la CPU Fan