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
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