Delegation from People's Republic of China and CATCH members pose at City Hall.

On November 30, Citizens at City Hall hosted a delegation from the People's Republic of China and made a presentation to them about the work of CATCH. The two-hour event took place at city hall and included a tour of the council chambers, an exchange of gifts, and an extensive question and answer period about both municipal government and the role of citizens and groups like CATCH.

The delegation from the National Development and Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China is visiting Canada from November 25 to December 16 at the invitation of the Foundation for International Training. The delegates are high ranking city officials from Zhejiang Province and the cities of Hangzhou, Ningxia, Xiamen and Qingdao.

All 13 members of the delegation have responsibilities in managing and reforming of Chinese cities as well as designing and implementing legal and practical issues. The main purpose of their visit to Canada is to gain knowledge in town management and policy regarding town and municipal development and management in a Canadian context both in theory and practical experience.

Foundation officials contacted CATCH and requested a presentation to help the Chinese officials understand the relationship between citizens and municipal governments.

Councillor Bratina welcomes delegates.

CATCH arranged for Councillor Bob Bratina to welcome the delegates and to lead the building tour. The councillor's ability to speak quite a bit of Mandarin was a highlight of the event. The delegates were keenly interested in all aspects of Hamilton's municipal government and especially the role of a citizen monitoring group such as CATCH.

CATCH volunteers explained the goals and activities of the organization, and provided examples of governance issues in Hamilton including transparency of decision-making, accessibility of citizens to their government, and issues related to elections and campaign contributions.

CATCH provided Chinese tea and small gifts to each of the delegates and in return received a gift from the head of the delegation. More information about the Foundation for International Training can be found at www.ffit.org.