‘We’ve become hyper-partisan,’ says Queen’s Park intern in Kiiwetinoong
By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Source: NWOnewswatch.com
Eve Parry says the Legislative Assembly of Ontario’s motto, “to hear the other side,” is “a really important message in today’s world.”
The 23-year-old is one of ten people from across Canada selected this year for the highly competitive Ontario Legislature Internship Program, which allows interns to work for 10 months split between two political parties.
“We’ve become hyper-partisan. So, just learning to be a bridge-builder and trying to see the best in different parties or ideologies, or just expose yourself to them, I think it’s really important in today’s world,” said Parry.
Parry is now working with Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa of the NDP Party, after spending her first five months with Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman of the PC Party. The interns work as an assistant for their assigned MPP, while learning about the different parties.
On June 16, Mamakwa will be bringing this year’s interns back to his riding. “I’ll be taking them to my home First Nation, Kingfisher Lake, for the day just to see the conditions and see how rich we are in land,” he said.
Mamakwa said that it’s important for the interns to see Kiiwetinoong to see the impacts of colonialism and oppression. “Whether it’s the suicide crisis, the mental health crisis, the drug crisis, the overcrowding, (…) it’s really important for them to see the real Canada, the real Ontario, you know, it’s not as great as what people say.”
But, he said, they also need to experience “the richness of our ways of life, the languages of who we are and also the land.”
Parry, who was raised in Vancouver, BC, said that she chose to study in Ontario because the province is nearly 40 per cent of both Canada’s GDP and population. It is her first time in Northwestern Ontario.
She said that learning about Kiiwetinoong in Mamakwa’s office has taught her many issues that she didn’t have prior knowledge of.
“I know (Kiiwetinoong) is the largest by land mass, smallest by population, and I think the riding name actually means ‘North,’ so it’s been fascinating to learn more, and I’ve just been struck by how vast it is and so beautiful and scenic,” she said.
“Even on the plane yesterday from Thunder Bay on Bearskin Airlines, staring out the window I was mesmerized by just the beauty. All the lakes speckling Northwestern Ontario,” said Parry. “It’s gorgeous.”
At the end of the internship, the group of ten visits England for a study tour to compare parliamentary systems and to learn about the origin of the Westminster system, according to a spokesperson for Mamakwa’s office.
Mamakwa told Newswatch that he has been applying to OLIP since his first few years as MPP. “I try to bring them to my riding because its very different from downtown Toronto or Southern Ontario, and its important that we share that experience with them,” he said.
The program began in 1975, and each year selects ten people from across the country.
More information can be found on their website.
(Photo by Maya Ekman)
