Teachers Institute Meetings et al

All our meetings are in the West Block. You go through security when you enter any building on Parliament Hill - the buckles on my boots were not so helpful for a speedy exit;)

We've had interesting guest speakers and Non-Partisan Panel discussions on government topics. Guest speakers have thus far spoken on the Constitution, Elections, the Executive, and Democratic Reform.

The Non-Partisan Panel discussions have focused on Minority Governments and Parliamentarians' Perspectives. A question posed to the minority government panel was what is the greatest asset and what is the greatest liability in a minority government? Answer - In a minority government there is an opportunity to be more inclusive in policy making, to listen to others ideas and opinions, and engage in a consultation process across party lines. The greatest liability is the short term focus; no long term investments in our country are made because the threat of an election that looms in a minority government. An interesting conversation arose about the benefits of a Coalition Government and the lack of knowledge the Canadians really have about what this means.

We toured Rideau Hall, the residence of our Governor General Michaelle Jean - what an amazing building - again heaps of history and heraldry! I'll write about that later this week!

Tomorrow we get to sit in the House of Commons, not just in the gallery, but physically in MP's chairs. I have been asked to speak for the Institute and thank the Parliamentary Librarian, Dr. Young, for his hospitality - I'm off to write a speech.

By the way, this is a picture of Sir John A MacDonald's desk, located in East Block, very cool!