Graduation Day!

We had our mock debate today and then it was time for our Graduation Ceremony. 

We all sat in chairs in the ping pong room (I got to help move the table out of the way!) and Mrs. Tedford and Paula stood at the front of the room with a stack of certificates. They called us up in alphabetical order one at a time to be given our certificates. We had been practicing our "BUSINESS HANDSHAKES" (not a flabby, light handshake, but a proper firm handshake that means business!) for just this occasion! We shook hands and they congratulated each of us for graduating from the program. 

One of the Page girls brought an ice cream cake to celebrate. It was yummy!

We were given special memory packages that have CDs with photos from our time here. The package also has our name badges and pins that we wore on our uniforms, special Trillium and Coat of Arms pins too! But the neatest thing in it is the special certificate that is signed by the Speaker and is in a pretty frame with a photo of our Page group with the Speaker. It's so special. I'm glad I have these memories to take home with me to remind me of my time here. 

Afterward we watched a slideshow of all our photos from our time together. 

It was a really special day. 

I can't believe that tomorrow is my last day here. I really don't want it to end. I don't want to go home! I love being a PEYge and I'm going to miss all of my new friends so much. I'm also going to miss doing my job in the Chamber. It was so much fun here. 

---PeyThePEYge

PS -- I got a special flower that was "hand picked just for me" from MPP Todd Smith. It was a Cancer flower pin that he gave to me after I held the door open for him. So nice! :) 

All Good Things Must Come To An End

Today was my last day. 

The Speaker stood in the Chamber and asked all of the MPPs to join him in thanking the Pages for our dutiful service. Everyone stood and clapped. It felt pretty awesome.

After our day was done, we went to the Page quarters. I stayed an hour after I was dismissed to spend time with all of the Pages and say goodbye to those who were staying later in the Chamber. 

There were lots of hugs and everyone promised to stay in touch. 

This was such a good learning experience to find out about my government and how things are done in the Assembly. I met so many people from different parts of the province. I made some amazing friends. I'm really proud of how much I've grown since I came here. I feel so much more confident doing things like talking to adults or asking questions. Living in Toronto was a big learning experience too because urban life is very different than living in my little village. I took subways and streetcars and tried food I hadn't tried before. I stayed in an apartment 25 floors up and took an elevator every day! I'm still Peyton but I feel so much older and more mature. I also feel inspired to keep finding ways to make change in my community and the world around me. 

I can't believe this experience is over. I feel so lucky to have been chosen to participate in this life changing program. I feel so lucky to have been able to be here for 5 weeks and to see SO much happen (so many bills passed). 

Thanks to everyone who helped me and supported me in being here. 

---PeyThePEYge

PS: MPP Colle came to the PQ to give me some special pins to share with my friends and family. 

PPS: MPP Clark is going to give me a bunch of pin souvenirs to bring back to my class. It's going to be very special to bring something back to share with them.

The Great Debate!

Today was a very exciting day!

My Page class has been working on a project for the last few days that culminated today in a MOCK DEBATE!

Remember when I said my class divided into a mock government and that I was the chief government whip for the Liberal party? Well, we had to debate a bill presented by one of the Page PCs (the Leader of the mock Opposition) about expanding our trauma centres and allowing people living in Ontario to use OHIP to get medical treatment in the USA (because some Ontario towns are on the border to the USA).

Unfortunately there were 5 school groups touring the Assembly today so we couldn't visit the original chamber room for our debate, we had to do it in our classroom BUT

I got to be the acting Sargeant-At-Arms!!!

I got to wear a jacket with coattails, a bi-corn hat (like a tri-corn hat but only with 2 points), and I got to carry a sword!!! (Good thing it was plastic because I'm a little clumsy and it wouldn't have been good to impale a fellow Page!!!!) 

Two of our Page MPPs were having lunch in the Parliamentary Dining Room with their MPPs so I got to parade through the building to the dining room to pick up the Pages while I was dressed as the Sargeant-At-Arms. One of the Constables even stood at attention when I walked past!!!!!!! FUNNY!!!

Then it was time to get down to business. 

The great debate!

Here was my argument against the PC bill: 

Mr. Speaker, 

The Leader of the Opposition has some grand ideas. 

Why not have out of country medical expenses covered by OHIP? 

Sounds good! While we're at it, why not pack up all of our nurses and doctors and move them to the USA? Why not get rid of Orange and hire American planes to fly our patients around? Why build hospitals here when we can just send everyone to the States? 

Are these outrageous statements, Mr. Speaker? Absolutely! But no more outrageous than suggesting we send OUR taxpayers' money to another country to let THEM decide what is the best healthcare for OUR Ontario citizens! To help THEIR centres grow while ours sit empty and crumbling. 

I have to wonder if the PCs are familiar with the Auditor General's report on OHIP. Because were they familiar with it, they would know that a key objective is to provide all Ontarians with accessible, high quality healthcare. And we're doing that!

They would also know that in the 2004/2005 fiscal year, OHIP spent 1.9 BILLION DOLLARS on non fee-for-service claims. Mr. Speaker, if we were to invest even a PORTION of that 1.9 BILLION dollars being spent PER YEAR on out of country claims into our OWN health care system, think of the facilities we could build! 

Do the PCs realize that for every 1000 people in Ontario there are 97 specialists? That Ontario offers the same number of acute care beds as the USA? Do they realize that we have spent 50 years investing in an exceptional health care service? This bill makes me wonder. 

Can we improve, Mr. Speaker Yes! Can we examine turning some of Ontario's abandoned schools into community health care centres easing the strain on emergency rooms? Yes! Can we invest funds to better equip our hospitals? Definitely! Can we support Universities in providing stellar educational opportunities to future doctors and continue Ontario's amazing level of care? We sure can! But ONLY if we invest our resources in OUR OWN PROVINCE! 

I can't support this bill, Mr. Speaker because doing so means not supporting my constituents, Ontario residents, or Ontario health care providers. 



My Liberal colleagues were very pleased with it! They were shouting "hear!hear!" and banging their desks! Just like a real debate! :) 

One Page MPP even got kicked out! 

It was fun to be able to act out what we see every day in the Chamber. 

---PeyThePEYge

The LEFT-tenant Governor!

Many people pronounce the word Lieutenant like "LOO-TENANT", but the British (and Canadian) PROPER pronunciation actually sounds like LEFTenant. What's better than knowing how to properly pronounce the word? 

ACTUALLY MEETING THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR! 

Today was such a BIG day for this little PEYge. 

I was PEYge Captain again (second time! Yeah!!!) 

My Noni and Boppa and sister, Taylor, came to visit me and got to sit in the Members' Gallery. MPP Clark officially welcomed them to Queen's Park! When I was getting ready to go in the Speaker's Procession, the Sargeant-at-Arms posed for a picture with Tay and me and then he gave Taylor a special golden MACE pin! Lucky sister!!!!! 

Then we had our lunch and meeting with the Clerk, Deborah Deller (which you already read about). 

THEN it was time to meet the Honourable David C. Onley. 

We went up to his office which is quite a big space in the Main Building. It's actually TWO FLOORS! A two-storey office! How cool!!!??? The room we sat in had a fireplace and pictures of past Lieutenant Governors. 

Quick Tip: The first female Lieutenant Governor was Pauline Mills McGibbon in 1974-1980. 

We all had to stand when Mr. Onley entered the room as a sign of respect. Mr. Onley is in a motorized scooter because he had polio when he was a child and now suffers from post-polio. His legs and hands are very affected. It's because of this that he is such a strong advocate for people with disabilities. 

He told us that the Lieutenant Governor is appointed by the Prime Minister (right now, that's Stephen Harper) out of people across Ontario. His job is to serve as kind of a substitute for the Queen. He gives Royal Assent to bills. That means that when a bill passes third reading, it requires the Lieutenant Governor's signature before it is finalized. He is acting as the Queen (because she is our monarch) and signing to make it official. Because the Queen can't be here all the time, the Lieuteant Governor is her representative. He goes to many meetings and talks with dignitaries and people across Ontario on behalf of the Queen. When he meets someone he says, "I greet you in the name of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth". 

There were 3 flags in the room. One was a Canadian flag, one was an Ontario flag and one was difficult to recognize. It looked like this: 

It actually isn't called a flag, it's called a standard. It belongs to the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. Wherever he is, that standard is raised. Whenever it is raised, it's higher than the Canadian & Ontario flags since he represents the Queen who is the highest ruler. In Canada, each province's standard has that Province's crest surrounded by 10 maple leaves (that represent each province of Canada). 

On a desk, there was a Guestbook with signatures from people who had visited him. We got to sign it! :D 

We went to the downstairs portion of his office because there was a special exhibit showing pictures of famous Ontarians on the walls. Annelise Carr's picture was there. She was a Page in the Program and is the youngest person to swim Lake Ontario. There were also famous Ontario musicians like Alanis Morissette and Justin Beiber. I was happy to see Karen Kain's picture (she's a famous ballerina) 

My Page group with the Honourable Lieutenant Governor, David C. Onley. 

--- PeyThePEYge


PS: Today, I picked up a petition from MPP John O'Toole and he may have said, "I will sign my name and give it to Peyton....one of the finest pages we have!" AWESOME!!!! BEST DAY!!!!

P.P.S: Today I got to hold the Sargeant-At-Arms's SWORD! He came into the Underpress and passed it around to us all. It was REALLY SHINY and it had a black handle that had a jewel on it. It was long, pointy and a little heavy. 

Lunch with the Clerk

The Clerk, Deborah Deller, advises the Speaker, counts the votes (ayes & nays), is in charge of a lot of people and a lot of a tasks AND….

HAS LUNCH WITH THE PAGES!

Today we met in Clerk Deller’s office to learn more about her and what she does. She has a big office with many books on shelves and on tables. There were paintings on the walls and big windows at the end of the room. We sat on chairs and she told us how she became the Clerk.

She was going to University and planned to study law but needed a summer job. She found out that you could be a tour guide at the Legislative Assembly. She went for an interview and there was one question that sealed the deal for her getting the job…. “what is your dress size”? The tour guides have to wear uniforms and they had just ordered a bunch. The spot she was supposed to fill was someone who had quit who was a size 7. They already had a size 7 uniform. That happened to be her size! So she got the job! :D

She guided for a couple of summers to have enough money to pay for University. Even when she wasn’t working, she would sit in on some of the committees and watch the debates. She learned a lot about how committees work. When a job spot opened to work in the committees branch, she took it. She made her way up through the branch until she eneded up becoming the Deputy Clerk of Committees.

She made her way up the hierarchy:

From Deputy Clerk of Committees to Clerk of committees.

From Clerk of committees to Depty Clerk of Procedural Services

From deputy clerk of procedural service sto clerk of procedureal services

To deputy clerk.

She was Deputy Clerk for a long time and was happy with the job until the existing Clerk retired. She put her name in for the Clerk’s position to a panel of judges and professionals. Applicants put their names in from across the province of Ontario. The panel selected her! She has now been Clerk for 7 years and has a been working in the buildilng for 35 years!

We saw the Bible that was used to swear her in when she became Clerk. It’s really, really old! There were many signatures in the Bibles form all of the past Clerks who were sworn in using it. It was neat to see such old signatures. 

Another one of her roles is she swears in the Special Constables when they pass their training. They get to choose to use the Bible (it’s the one that’s been used since the Legistlative Assembly opened) or to use a Holy book fo their choosing.

  

Oh, and we noticed that in her book cupboard is a whole lot of PEZ dispensers. We asked if she collected them and she told us a funny story….

When her kids were really little, on her birthday they decided to pool their money & buy her a present. They only had $1.25 between the two of them so they couldn’t buy much. They were in a store, they saw a PEZ dispenser of Gonzo the Muppet. Clerk Deller likes Gonzo. They bought it for her. She kept it on her desk at work. People would go into her office at work and assumed she liked PEZ dispensers. SO for Chsitmas and birthdays, people at work would buy her PEZ dispensers! :D

We also had the opportunity to ask some questions. Here’s what I asked…..

In your opinion, what’s the most important piece of lesgislation that you’ve seen passed?

Everyone thought that was a really good question! 

She had to think for a while because she has seen a LOT of legislation passed. She decided it was one  a long time ago in the 1990’s about public education that she thought would have affected lots of students. She felt it was good that it passed.

Next was LUNCH TIME!

We moved to a different meeting room for a pizza lunch! The room was really interesting because it was designed to look like what the committee rooms looked like when the building first opened. It had the same shape as the Speaker’s apartment room…. long and narrow with the curved wall at the end and big windows. There was a really long table in the middle of the room. The table was green! There were many pictures on the walls.

During lunch we talked about the time that the House sat for 24 hours straight for 9 days in a row! Imagine meeting 24 hours a day for 9 days straight? 

There was a bill that was going to amalgamate the GTA (so places like Scarborough and Etobicoke and Mississauga) into one big MEGACITY but the Opposition didn’t like that idea. The Opposition (the Liberals and NDPs at the time) created 13,000 amendments to that bill that would have to be read into the record and voted on individually!!!!! They made a list of every single street in those areas that would be affected and have to be notified of the changes. Of course, the House couldn’t adjourn until they were done looking at all of those amendments. The Speaker called the Committee of The House (which is where the Chamber turns into a big committee room )

Quick Tip: A committee is where certain people all sit together and discuss a bill section by section and say what should be included, what shouldn’t be included and all of the different amendments that should be made. Committees are made up of members from all parties.

So all the members came to the meeting and the Chamber turned into one giant committee room for discussion! They discussed and debated for 9 days! On the 3^rd day they calculated how long it would take at the pace they were going and calucated it would take 40 days and 40 nights, but the members didn’t want it to take so long so they agreed that moving quickly through everything would mean deferring all the votes to the end of all discussions and trying to work through everything in 9 days (24 hours a day). They managed to do this but not without a couple of hiccups along the way!

One of the streets the Opposition listed to be excluded from the amalgamation accidentally passed the vote so there was one street that for a couple of days was excluded from the Greater Toronto Area! The government quickly fixed that after they realized it, but it meant that everyone living on that street celebrated for a few days! :D 

Lunch with the Clerk, Deborah Deller

We learned a lot from Ms. Deller and had a great time! 


--PeyThePEYge

T'was The Night Before Paging

After being Page Captain, we have to make a presentation to the class that highlights three things: 

1. What we did well

2. What we can improve

3. Strategies for improvement

We have to be creative in our presentations so I decided to write a poem (based on a very famous Christmas story) to share with my Page buddies. 

May I present, the PEYge Poem!!!!

T’was the minute before Question Period

And all through Queen’s Park

All the pages were working

From morning ‘til dark.

The glasses were filled

Placed on desks with great care

For all MPPs

Who soon would be there.

The pages were quick

And they did what was told

Taking motions, petitions

To young and to old.

They stood when the Speaker

Rose from his seat

And everyone sat

“together knees and feet”.

Premier Wynne had her water

Tim Hudak, his books,

Ms. Horwatch was dressed in a dress…

Her best look!

There was yelling and calling

And banging of desks

And heckling from members

Who gave it their best.

But the Pages were good

No, nothing could phase them

They knew if it did

Sargeant-At-Arms would come tase them!

The Pages were good

The Pages were neat

Worked quickly and lively

Stood tall on their feet.

They were dressed very nicely

From head down to toe

Every tie, every vest,

And each frilly jabot. 

All deliveries were made

With precision and grace

All duties were done

With a smile on the face.

The snapping was heard

And always obeyed

And listening well

Few mistakes there were made.

But Pages, I know

We all want to improve

So here is my motion

Here’s what I move…

Though we’ve done our work well

Better teamwork is needed,

Quick response can improve

This advice should be heeded…

We must stand up in unison

Sit straight in line,

And know where to go

When we’re called up each time.

We’ve been three weeks together

We should not scratch and yawn

While we sit on the Dais

When discussion is on.

We should help one another

With a nudge or a touch

To all stand together

When the Speaker stands up.

With Petitions and Motions

We should each take our turn

A professional “rep”

We will certainly earn.

And please don’t return

To your seat by the Speaker

Give a turn to a Page

At the back who is eager.

  

Politely bowing our heads

Is still slightly lacking

Please don’t duck in the House

As we don’t allow “quacking”.

A professional walk

Without hesitation

Makes us all look so good

On each TV station.

Our procession lines are

So tidy and neat

But we must take great care

To not clomp our feet.

Every day at 8:30

When procession time’s near

We should all get together

And start with a cheer

If we do all these things

And we work as a team

Soon we’ll all see

Our Mrs. Tedford beam!

Let’s all work together

And do everything right

Happy Paging to all

And to all a goodnight!

---PeyThePEYge

Who Is PeyThePEYge For 100, Alex!

My title of this post is a reference to a TV show called Jeopardy. It's a fun gameshow and today, we had the opportunity to play......

PAGE JEOPARDY!!!!

It was Orientation Day for the next round of Pages today. This meant our teacher was a little busy helping them learn about the experience SO we all met in the Amethyst Room (a big meeting room) to play Jeopardy with Clerk William Short (actually he's really tall, so it's a funny last name for him to have!)

The Pages all formed teams and had a contest to see who the buzzer for each team would be. The contest was 3 Pages would sit in chairs with the buzzer and on the TV, the face of an MPP would be shown. Whoever buzzed first AND got the right answer, moved on to the next round. Since all of you know how hard I studied my MPPeeps, obviously you know who the buzzer was! That's right... MOI! 

The game was a lot of fun. We answered so many questions about Parliament and politics and the MPPs and the best part.....

MY TEAM WON! (and the prize was chocolate!!!!!!!!!)

 Who's the best buzzer? Me! 

I know this answer!!!!

The big win! Chocolate!

After Jeopardy we worked on our bills and debates for our mock government session next week. THEN, the best part of the day was when we got to go into the Chamber to help with the training session of the newbies (that would be a slang term for the new Pages!). 

We sat in MPP chairs (I was MPP Clark for the afternoon! :D ) and wrote notes and called for water and delivered petitions. I think it probably was very helpful for the new Pages. I wish we'd had a group of Pages there on our Orientation Day. 

We had lunch with the new Pages and told them about what to expect for their job. It was fun getting to know them and sharing everything we've learned since we started. 

The other cool thing we did today is ........

Toured the Legislative Special Security (LSS) room. 

There were  a bunch of TVs showing different areas of the building where security cameras are placed. We could see outside the building, people walking through hallways, the main entry ways. The best part was that there is a JOYSTICK that you can use to control the cameras. You can turn the camera around to get different views and zoom in on whatever you want to (licence plates, people's faces). I now know why it's called a JOYstick. Using it was JOYFUL!!!!!!!

One of the security officers put on his RIOT GEAR. This is an uniform they wear when they're dealing with large crowds of protestors or people who aren't following the rules. It's a navy blue heavy suit that's fireproof. There is a helmet with a faceguard to keep their eyes and faces safe. They have a big baton and shield too. When they're all walking together they bang their shields with the batons. 

The uniform comes with a gas mask too. The guard demonstrated what happens when someone attacks with some kind of gas (tear gas for example). We timed him putting him on and it only took him 31 seconds. They said that was a new record! The guard we spoke to had experienced several different riots. He was even there for the G20 riot. 

 The LSS guard in riot gear!

Ready to take on any troublesome protestors! 

Question: This PEYge had a really fun day today. 

Answer: Who is PeyThePEYge! 

---PeyThePEYge

MPP Peyton

The Honourable MPP Peyton, if you please!

Our class has set up a mock government. 

We took an online test with TONS of questions to help determine our political views and then formed parties based on those views. 

My answers to the questions determined that I am a left Liberal. I hadn't really considered what party I might vote for or be involved with before this exercise, so I found it very interesting. I guess that I think my views are pretty balanced. There are some things I feel left wing about and some I feel right wing about. I believe in some points from every party and never really though I would favour one over another. Actually, it's good that I felt that way since being a PEYge means having to be non-partisan and not favouring one party (or one MPP) over the others. 

So in my class, I became part of the Liberal party. 

Since the Liberals are the government party (and we had the most members), we needed to assign ministries. So I'd like to introduce myself as.....

MPP Peyton, The Honourable Minister of Children and Youth Services! (Move over, Theresa Piruzza! There's a new kid in town! :D) 

I am also the Chief Government Whip. 

Quick Tip: A Whip is sort of the Speaker for their own party because they keep order in the group and make sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to do. They also help decide who is on what committee. 

I take my responsibilities very seriously and am happy to have the portfolio that I have since I think children and youth are pretty important peeps! :D

This week we had to write mock bills. We will be presenting our bills next week when we get the chance to actually sit in the original Chamber room and pretend that we're actual MPPs! (I AM SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!) We'll debate the bills and vote too. 

I think this activity will give us even more of an idea of the political process and how things work. I'm really looking forward to it! :D

---PeyThePEYge

A MAJOR (or MINOR) Question

Do you know the difference between a Majority and a Minority government?

I do!

Right now, Ontario has a Minority government which means that less than half of the seats belong to the party in power. It's cool that I'm a PEYge with a minority government because they are less common than majority governments.

Want to learn more about majority and minority governments? Watch this cool video!

Speaking of Lunch!!!!

After my meeting with Premier Wynne today, I had lunch with the Speaker! :D 

The Speaker is MPP Dave Levac from Brant. 

Folks, the Speaker invited us into his APARTMENT IN THE LEGISLATIVE BUILDING to have lunch! Do you realize how COOL THIS IS!!!!!!!??????

We walked into one of the rooms in his hallway and it was his (as he told us excitedly) PLAYROOM! Where he likes to play........... HOUSE (get it? House? As in what the MPPs call the Chamber!!!)!!!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! How funny is this guy? 

The room had pictures on the walls. One of them was really cool. It was of the first ever parliament of Upper Canada. It was a big, long and narrow room with a curved wall at the end with BIG WINDOWS! There was a really LOOOOOONG table in the middle of the room with high backed green chairs. At the end of the table was another table with the food on it. Chicken fingers, fries, hamburgers and vegetables. The Speaker said that if we didn't eat our vegetables, he'd eat us! :D He has such a funny sense of humour. Seriously! 

So we sat down to eat. The Speaker said we'd better eat everything on our plates because he made it all himself. But I doubt that. And as coincidence would have it, they just happen to sell chicken fingers, burgers and veggies in the dining room! :D 

While we ate, we talked to him about his job as Speaker. 

He had really creative and funny answers to all of our questions. 

Page Question: Prior to becoming an MPP I heard you were involved in education? 
Speaker: You heard I was involved in education.
Page: Yes. So I was wondering what type of education?
Speaker: I was a teacher. I was a very mean teacher. I ate my students. 
Page: Really? 
Speaker: Yes. And then I was a principal. Everyone liked me as a principal because if they didn't, I would eat them. 

He is REALLY FUNNY!!!!!! 

Page Question: What is your favourite part of being Speaker? 
Speaker: Having lunch with the Pages. 

Page Question: What's your favourite part of the Chamber? 
Speaker: Sitting on the Dias so I can be with the Pages. 

I think he gets his sense of humour from the fact that he wanted to be an entertainer when he was young. He was in a group of entertainers for a while. During our lunch he sang, and he also talked in a whole bunch of really funny voices! 

I think that to be the Speaker you have to have a sense of humour because things can get pretty tense and argumentative and you have to calm things down a little. So sometimes he'll stand up in Question Period and say something so surprising like this week when everyone was shouting and arguing and carrying on so he said...

"I'm going to do something a little unorthodox and ask you all to stand up and jump and shout for 5 minutes. Maybe that will get it all out of your systems". 

Or last week when he said....

"Member from Northumberland Quinte West come to order! Member from Bruce Grey - Owen Sound come to order! Member from Renfrew Nippissing Pembroke come to order! And ..... oh..... just the whole PC Caucus come to order!!!" 

If you've ever watched Question Period on the Legislative Assembly Channel or on the website, you see that he uses his sense of humour a lot! :D

He also gave some really good answers to the questions we had during our lunch. We learned that he can't go to the Liberal Caucus meetings because he has to remain non-partisan. He can't know what they will be talking about in the Chamber. 

The only time that the Speaker gets to vote is when there is a tie. It's interesting because he doesn't just vote for what he actually thinks should happen. His vote sort of depends on the circumstance. If it is a bill that is in first reading, no matter if he agrees with it or not, he will vote against it (even if his party is voting FOR it) because the bill will then have an opportunity to be reintroduced and debated again. If it is a tie vote on a bill on its second reading (even if he voted against it in a tie on the first reading) he has to vote to pass it so that there can be more debate. If it is a bill on its third reading and a tie, he will vote against it so that there can be more debate. So his job isn't to make a tie-breaking decision, it's to use the tie to have more debate on the bill so that the parties can actually decision. 

He also gave us lots of neat information. For instance, he talked about Wig Bags. I said WIG BAGS, not wind bags (though there are a few of those in the House :D :D :D) 

What's a Wig Bag you ask? 

In the old days in Britain, judges and lawyers and politicians and important people wore really big wigs. This is where the expression being a "BIG WIG" comes from... meaning you are important. 

Back then, they didn't know how to treat or cure head lice. Every day, the politicians and other big wigs would powder their wigs with lime (not the fruit, the powder) to help keep lice away. The problem is that wigs had long tails that ran down your back. When you took your wig off you would have a long line of powder down your black robe (like a skunk stripe!). Clearly this is a fashion faux pas! So wig bags were invented! The bag sat on your back up high near your shoulders. They would tuck the tail of the wig into the bag so the powder would drop into the bag instead of down your robe. Did you know that they still have wig bags on the back of the Speaker, Clerks and Sargeant-at-Arms robes (but they don't really use them because they don't wear wigs anymore). 

We also learned about tri-corn hats. Tri-corn hats are also a British thing. They have three points on them that are tied together at the top

The Sargeant-At-Arms (Dennis Clark) in his tri-corn hat

British farmers used to wear them but they didn't tie the corners up on top of their heads. If you untie a tri-corn and flatten it down, it makes a really big rim that goes around your head. This protected the farmers from the sun. If it rained, since the hats were originally made of straw, the brims would droop down and cover their faces so they couldn't see... so if it did rain, they just tied up those corners on top of their head! Tri-corn comes from the words tri (which means 3) and corn (short for corner). 

The Speaker, the Clerks and the Sargeant At Arms all wear their tri-corn hats today when they come into the Chamber. 

I wondered how he represents his Riding of Brant while he's the Speaker. In the MPP Constituency offices, they all have to be non-partisan. Since the Speaker is always non-partisan, he can still work in his office. When he wants to present a bill or a petition, he has another MPP to present it for him. 

I asked him if he'd ever had to exercise his right to remove someone from the Chamber and wasn't all that surprise with his answer. Yes, he has had to throw people out. 4 times, in fact. Twice it was the same person (MPP Yakabuski who is well known for sharing his opinions out loud and LOUDLY for everyone to hear)!

I came away from my lunch with the Speaker really appreciating how hard it is for him to remain non-partisan and keep order in the Chamber. I admire his sense of humour and the way he can talk to everyone. 

MPP Dave Levac, Speaker of the House

Today I feel so lucky to be here and to have the chance to talk and spend time with two people who are really important to our Province and our politics. 

--- PeyThePEYge

A Wynne-ing Meeting

One of the really great things about the Page Program is that we get the chance to meet a lot of really interesting and important people. 

Today after Question Period, we all gathered around on the steps in the Chamber to talk with someone really important....

The Honourable Kathleen O. Wynne - the Premier!

We got to talk to her for a while and ask her lots of different questions. I found it really interesting that she had so much to say even about really small matters. That showed that she is a good speaker and even more.......... that she is not just answering the question because she has to. It shows that she really listens to your questions and thinks about it and answers it in a way that you can connect to. She uses lots of examples too which helps the person asking the questions to really understand her perspective. 

Let me give some examples of some of the questions and answers that we had with the Premier today (I'm not quoting her here........I have a good memory but it's not THAT good. I'm just summarizing what her responses were)

How do you feel about MPP Kim Craitor's resignation? 

She was disappointed because he had been an MPP for a long time and they were pretty good friends and he always had lots to say in different debates. Even though he wasn't a Minister, he really gave good advice and let her know his opinions. He also had friends in other parties. For example, he and Mr. Hudak had a thing going on where they wanted to get jobs back in Niagara because they both are from Niagara so they were working together on that. 

What do you feel the most important ministry is? 

She said she thinks that all ministries are as important but for her, since she was involved with schools and was on school boards before she was a politician, she feels like the Ministry of Education is very important. We only get good, hard workers if they are educated. If people know more, there are more opportunities for them. Education makes our province go round because for example, there wouldn't be a ministry of health if people didn't go to school to become doctors or nurses or otherwise learn about healthcare. 

She also talked about some of the other ministries she was part of before, for example, she was Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. That was a challenge for her because she knew nothing about infrastructure and transportation so she had to learn a lot. 

It seems like she is a woman who really likes to learn. Right now, for example, she is the Minister of Agriculture and Food but she grew up in the city and didn't know a whole lot about farming. I admire that someone would work so hard to learn something that they have very little knowledge about.... especially when it's on top of doing all of the other work that a Premier has to do!!!!! 

I was able to ask her a question too. I asked what the most difficult part of being Premier is. 

She said that for her, the most difficult part is making the right decisions. There are lots of choices and things that you can do as Premier, but not all of them are right for the all of the people of the province. The most difficult part is making that right decision that benefits everyone (well, you can't always benefit everyone, but at least the majority of people), not just a few people. The only time she has a hard time sleeping is when there is something big and important going on and she has to make the decision, especially if it is something she doesn't know a whole lot about.... that makes it even harder. 

I appreciate that she believes that it's important to focus on jobs for young people because kids are the future of our province. They are the next generation and if they don't have good jobs, what will happen to our province? 

I like her debating style. When she is answering questions during Question Period, she is normally very calm and composed and doesn't often read from a script. This is impressive because there is so much information you have to know when you're responding to a question. 

As a person, she is really funny and she really relates to everyone. She didn't talk to us like we were just young kids. She talked to us like we were important and that what we had to say and what we asked were important things to her. 

It was a really special opportunity. It was interesting hearing what she had to say about different subjects. Sometimes it's hard to think about someone as important as being a person with their own thoughts and feelings - you think that she is just doing a job. When you talk to her and meet with her, you can tell that she cares about what she's doing (which is SO IMPORTANT!!!!). 

I am so glad I had the opportunity to meet with her today. I feel really lucky to have had this chance that I know not many kids get. 

--- PeyThePEYge

My Dog Ate My Homework (and other political statements)

Today I had a chance to meet with the leader of the NDP party, Andrea Howarth. 

We got together in the NDP caucus board room. 

Mrs. Horwath came in a few minutes late and apologized, saying that her dog, Waffles (I KNOW! WAFFLES!!!), had made her late. She said, "you've probably heard the excuse, 'my dog ate my homework', though you're such good kids you've probably never used it. Really, though. I had to take Waffles out for a walk this morning. I put on her boots but not her raincoat. So when we got back she was soaking wet except for her feet, so I had to dry her off before I could come!".  Immediately I liked this woman. I mean, a dog named WAFFLES who wears boots and a coat? That's pretty perfect. 

Mrs. Horwath asked us a few questions about the Page Program and how we were liking it. Then she told us a little about herself. 

She was going to University in the town where she grew up in Hamilton. The former main industry in Hamilton was steel. During the recession, lots of people in the steel industry got laid off and it was mostly immigrants who couldn't speak or read or write English very well. Some of the professors at her university, herself and some of her student colleagues made a workshop to help the immigrants learn the language and find new jobs. She was going to go study law but didn't. She started working for social groups, so working with injured workers and single moms and people with disabilities, helping them access services and finding jobs. Her friends all decided that they needed someone from their group to be on the city council so that they could influence the other people to fund the group and help it with its work. She ended up being the one to run and her political career began! She was successful and was a counsellor until 2004 when she ran for a provincial seat. She became an MPP until 4 years ago when she was elected party leader and was successful. Next year she will celebrate her 14th year as a provincial politician. 

Then it was our turn to ask the questions. 

I asked her what one thing she was most proud of accomplishing (or that her party accomplished) since she became an MPP. She gave me a really honest answer but I promised not to tell.... so my lips are sealed!!!

It's really interesting meeting with the MPPs because you don't really think of them as people, you see them as their roles or as kind of famous people. Really, they are all very real and kind and willing to talk to you. They also seem to have really interesting backgrounds and seem to be people who want to help make the world a better place. That's something I have in common with them. Who knows, maybe one day, I'll be an MPP. 

The Pages with Ms. Horwath

---PeyThePEYge