This has been a week of new responsibilities and new opportunities. On Sunday I was sustained and set apart as the new Ward Mission Leader of the Gatineau ward. Essentially, this means that I'm responsible for coordinating missionary activity for our congregation, working with the Elders and the other members to find interested people and meet the needs of those joining the Church. I'm a bit intimidated, but very excited; we have fantastic Elders in our ward right now. On Monday I started my new internship, working in the office of Rob Merrifield, a member of the Canadian Parliament from Western Alberta, who is Chair of the Health Committee in the House of Commons. I have the opportunity to interact with him many times on a daily basis, work with his staff, draft letters on his behalf, and best of all have a front row seat to watch the government function. Every day at 2pm, all 300+ MPs meet in the House of Commons and have "Question Period," a time where leaders of the opposition party fire away any question they want at the Prime Minister who responds or defers to the relevant cabinet minister. So in attending Monday's question period I got the chance to see the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, as well as all the other major players in Canadian politics. Yesterday's vote on a softwood lumber trade deal with the US was a "confidence vote," meaning that if Harper's party had lost, he would have had to quit or call a new election. There was no surprise however as the Bloc Quebecois backed the deal and it comfortably passed. Immediately after that was the first meeting of the Health Committee, where I will be spending a lot of my time. It's a lot of fun to watch my boss handle the pressure of 11 outspoken MPs negotiate their agenda, and then to hear his and other MPs private comments afterwards. I feel so lucky to work in such a beautiful place. I hope all of you can come visit, because with my new ID badge I can take you anywhere in the building, including lots of places the general public normally can't go.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
New Opportunities
This has been a week of new responsibilities and new opportunities. On Sunday I was sustained and set apart as the new Ward Mission Leader of the Gatineau ward. Essentially, this means that I'm responsible for coordinating missionary activity for our congregation, working with the Elders and the other members to find interested people and meet the needs of those joining the Church. I'm a bit intimidated, but very excited; we have fantastic Elders in our ward right now. On Monday I started my new internship, working in the office of Rob Merrifield, a member of the Canadian Parliament from Western Alberta, who is Chair of the Health Committee in the House of Commons. I have the opportunity to interact with him many times on a daily basis, work with his staff, draft letters on his behalf, and best of all have a front row seat to watch the government function. Every day at 2pm, all 300+ MPs meet in the House of Commons and have "Question Period," a time where leaders of the opposition party fire away any question they want at the Prime Minister who responds or defers to the relevant cabinet minister. So in attending Monday's question period I got the chance to see the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, as well as all the other major players in Canadian politics. Yesterday's vote on a softwood lumber trade deal with the US was a "confidence vote," meaning that if Harper's party had lost, he would have had to quit or call a new election. There was no surprise however as the Bloc Quebecois backed the deal and it comfortably passed. Immediately after that was the first meeting of the Health Committee, where I will be spending a lot of my time. It's a lot of fun to watch my boss handle the pressure of 11 outspoken MPs negotiate their agenda, and then to hear his and other MPs private comments afterwards. I feel so lucky to work in such a beautiful place. I hope all of you can come visit, because with my new ID badge I can take you anywhere in the building, including lots of places the general public normally can't go.
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