Carleton hosted an orientation weekend for newly elected MPs on Parliament Hill Sept. 17 and 18.
The event, which included a talk from Carleton president Roseann Runte on Sept. 18, was designed to introduce new MPs to Ottawa and life in Parliament, according to a release by the university.
“Personally, I learned a lot,” said Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, the new New Democratic Party MP for Hochelaga, Que. “I lived in Ottawa for a while many years ago but [it] has changed a lot since then and showed me what Ottawa is like today, so it was very instructive, and it was a lot of fun too,” she said.
Boutin-Sweet was among the many MPs talking to each other as well as Carleton professors and members of the media Sept. 18, while they waited for the day’s proceedings to begin.
For newly elected MPs, it was a chance to talk to members of other parties and veterans of Parliament Hill, and learn something in the process.
Having an event like this is important for the new MPs learning the ropes, according to Paul Wilson, associate professor at Carleton’s graduate program in political management.
“There’s so much stuff coming out from all over, parliamentary process, just getting around Ottawa, how things work . . . so having any sort of [informal] orientation and hearing from people on what has happened before, how to balance those things, I think is very valuable,” he said.
Judy Wasylycia-Leis, a former NDP MP and Manitoba cabinet minister, said that a program like this would have been valuable when she was starting as a politician.
“It’s amazing to be able to draw on people who have either been there done that or have had some real in-depth work in Ottawa or around the Hill and can offer some life examples,” she said.
Wasylycia-Leis also said she was impressed by the university for creating this event.
“[Carleton] in my view has always been connected to the Hill in some way or another,” she said. “I think the fact that they’re putting on this session today is phenomenal and very important.”
The sentiment was echoed by newly-elected Conservative Okanagan-Coquihalla MP Dan Albas.
“I find it reassuring to have a professional entity like Carleton take the lead and try to plan a wide range of events,” he said.
“It just goes to show how entrepreneurial the post-secondary education is in Canada, and that’s something to be applauded.”
