​The Israel-Canada Interparliamentary Group had its inaugural meeting at the Knesset with a surprise visit from Canadian MPs: Joël Godin (Conservatives), Ralph Jansen (Embassy of Canada to Israel), Paul Lefebvre (Liberals), Alain Rayes (Conservatives), Jean Rioux (Liberals), and Stephen Blaney (Conservatives). The Israeli chairpersons of the Group are Yoel Hasson (Zionist Union) and Dr. Anat Berko (Likud).
 
The five Canadian MPs are currently in Israel as part of a CIJA (Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs) delegation. Also participating in the Knesset event were representatives from the Canadian embassy in Israel and from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Liora Herzl, Head of North America Division; Gil Haskel, Head of MASHAV (Israel’s Agency for International Cooperation); Nimrod Barkan, Head of Division for the UN and International Organizations, and others; and representatives from civil society organizations with a strong connection to Canada. The director of the Bloomfield Science Museum in Jerusalem attended, as well as people from the Canada-Israel Chamber of Commerce, and others).
 
The focus of the event was the robust relations between the two countries and cooperation on cyber issues; a lecture on cyber cooperation was delivered by the National Cyber Bureau.