Young Canadians who have taken part in a popular internship program on Parliament Hill say federal politics is nothing like what they see on TV.
In fact, they say, he is far more civilized and less combative than the Q&A video clips suggest.
“Before I came to Ottawa and worked in Parliament, Q&A defined what politics was to me,” said Aditya Visweswaran, an intern from Edmonton.
“But what the screen doesn’t show is a member walking across the floor to talk to somebody and get a bit of information or say, ‘Hey, I need you to look at a constituent’s case in my district right away,’ or another member coming in and having a conversation with them behind the curtain.”
“Members of Congress aren’t just yelling at each other,” he said, “They’re working together to achieve what they want, which is a better life for every Canadian across the country.”
The House10:36Meet young people who have a front-row seat to observe lawmakers at work
Visweswaran said, Parliamentary Internship Program I spoke with (PIP) The HouseThey all said they were impressed by the level of cooperation and shared values they observed in Congress.
“When ordinary Canadians or political science students watch the Q&A, they see something completely different than what goes on at the committee level or in constituency offices,” said Katie Campbell, an intern from Winnipeg.
“There are a lot of nuances to the work of Parliament and how it represents Canadians that you can’t learn in a classroom,” she said, adding that being a parliamentary intern means “getting on the ground to see what politics is really like, learning from MPs, staff and constituents.”
Both camps
The program accepts 10 to 12 interns each year, spending half their internship with a member of the ruling party and the other half with a member of the opposition party. Program director Paul Thomas said it was one of the few truly bipartisan efforts in Congress.
“It’s been really interesting for me to watch the interns discuss how many of the issues they face in their respective constituencies, whether they’re Conservative, Liberal, New Democrat or Bloc,” Thomas says, “and I’ve found that council members are much more willing to collaborate and share information than I expected.”
Catherine DeSpaty said she saw a lot of similarities between the two council members during their time together during the 10-month internship.
“I’ve worked for two great MPs, both women, both with different ideologies and parties, but with a similar approach to politics, which is, ‘I’m close to my constituency,'” said Despaty, an Ottawa native.
It’s a harder job than it looks
Founded in 1970, the program also involves interns spending time in the congressional offices of members of Congress.
Arianne Joyce Padillo, MP for Mississauga, Ont., said her time in her constituency gave her a glimpse into how many people rely on their MPs for help.
“When you visit constituencies and work in a constituency office for a week, you find that there are constituents who actually come into the office and say, ‘Can I meet my MP?'” she said, “Or, ‘Hey, listen, I’ve got a visa issue or an immigration issue.’ They expect a lot from their MP, whether they voted for them or not.”
The interns also got to understand how challenging the job is.
“One thing my first MP said to me that has really stuck with me is, ‘The day that the seven-hour drive from my constituency to Ottawa becomes a pain is the day I know this job is no longer for me,’ and that I need to constantly remind myself that being in Ottawa is a privilege but first and foremost a duty to represent my constituents,” Visweswaran said.
Being a member of parliament often means being the target of abuse, something the interns saw firsthand.
Padillo said he was alone in his office during question period during his first month on the job when a lawmaker stood up to answer a question. Shortly thereafter, the phone rang.
“The person who called wasn’t even a constituent and took the time to look up the phone number for our office in Ottawa,” Padillo said. “The person was very aggressive, just very angry. I said I would forward the message, but it was just full of curse words and nothing of value, so it wasn’t worth forwarding.”
She said it was her first time experiencing this and she was a little shaken up.
“But then I went right back to work,” she said. “If the MP won’t budge, I won’t budge. It’s not worth missing out on the opportunities we have in Parliament.”
Despaty said lawmakers are often seen as “voices on TV” rather than as individuals.
“It was a good reminder for me that members of Congress are people too, they have families, they have lives, they have responsibilities, and they juggle it all.”
