Two of our interns in Parliament talk about their first week!

Two of our six interns are currently on Parliament Hill! Hear what they have to say about their first week! NCCAR is very grateful to our generous donors who support this program and helped us place these wonderful interns on the Hill. As these interns state in their own words, interning on Parliament Hill is definitely an insightful experience. Stay tuned to hear more about these interns and our four other interns later this summer!

Brent Lamothe, Ottawa ON,
Carleton University

With my first week successfully completed, I believe I can say without any hesitation that work on the Hill is not only the ideal internship for me, but a career that is certainly worth pursuing.

Last week, I had my first interview with Isabelle and her Legislative Assistant Wassim. One of the benefits to working in a smaller office is that you are given direct access to the MP and her staff in a way that would prove difficult if not impossible in a larger office. I had been assured by Wassim that the work I will do during this internship will not be the standard “get coffee, fax this, copy that” which so many interns are tasked with doing.

Thus far, I have spent my time learning the ropes of life on the Hill.The slang, the daily routines, the contacts to make, and perhaps most importantly knowing whom to call when a given problem arises.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the week was taking part in a protest on Parliament Hill over the expansion of the Montreal Airport that served to destroy a valued golf course in Isabelle’s riding, and destroy green space in the area. Over 100 residents came to take part in the demonstration, followed by a statement in the House of Commons, and a question to the Minister (written by me!) to see what the government was doing to address the issue. Until now, I only had suspicions, but now I am certain that a career in politics is right for me!

Lyan Khazanchi, Toronto ON,
York University

My first week in NCCAR’s and CAI’s Parliamentary internship has been a serious learning opportunity already. Coming from a background of little to no knowledge on Canadian Politics, I was introduced to the demographics of the area the MP I was working with covered. This is one of the main reasons I applied for this internship- to step out of my comfort zone and expand my knowledge.

I currently intern at Member of Parliament, Craig Scott’s Constituency office, which covers the Toronto-Danforth area in Ontario, Canada. I was welcomed into the office and the friendly staff gave me an introduction on the cases they deal with. Additionally, on my first day I was assigned a task that was due the same day, which required me to learn the language that the office used in external conversations such as emails and phone calls. I was given the task to write up an email on behalf of the MP and I thoroughly enjoyed learning the political language.

I have already been given my second task for next week which I am looking forward to. I will be interviewing owners of a restaurant and reviewing the food and atmosphere for a newspaper article. This is for the upcoming festival, “Taste of Danforth”. So exciting!

Thank you NCCAR and CAI for giving me this great learning experience, I can’t wait to see what’s next!

Posted on July 22, 2015