Read what two of our interns in Parliament have to say about their ongoing internship
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!
Sam Hamza, Ottawa ON,
University of Ottawa
My first day on the Parliament Hill was an eye-opening and life-changing experience. Having grown up in New Brunswick, far away from Ottawa, Parliament seemed to me an awesome and distant place. Entering center block as an employee certainly gave me more than a bit of a buzz. I met my supervisor the day before starting work at my MP’s office and we connected immediately. On the first day at work, she had me attend a tour of Parliament, training at the Parliamentary library, and question period. The whole experience was like a leap into cold water, but I quickly warmed up to it.
The work I do primarily consists of sorting through data collected from MP’s constituents. This is an excellent way to learn about the issues that are important to people in the MP’s riding. In the office, we also follow the news very closely, and in particular question period, to keep up to date with the various issues that are important to Canadians and parliamentarians.
Overall, Parliament is an extremely exciting place to work. It is never a dull day. In particular, things are getting hot on the Hill with regard to Middle-Eastern and related politics. Never a day passes without hearing about some issue pertaining to the Middle-East or the threat of terror (this being one of the Conservative’s primary policy concerns). I am very grateful to NCCAR for providing this fantastic opportunity to work with such great people, not the least MP Peter Julian and his assistant Mounia Lahbabi.
Khalid Shoukri, Ottawa ON
Carleton University
As my third week in NCCAR’s parliamentary internship comes to a close, it is the ideal time to reflect back on what I have learned so far. My placement in the office of Mr. Peter Julian, Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons, and MP for Burnaby-Westminster in BC, has given me an unmeasurable amount of experience, and a wealth of knowledge in Canadian politics. Both in domestic Canadian politics, and in the broader context of Canada on the international stage.
While my first week had been of basic political introduction, the following weeks had been more focused on practical aspects. So far, I have had the honour of taking part in research on particular issues, responding to constituent concerns, editing newsletters, and taking a more analytic approach to the policies being discussed in our House of Commons.
Dealing with the aforementioned, particularly responding to constituents has broken down many misconceptions and barriers of knowledge that I had, prior to the internship, regarding Canada’s political system.
Attending question periods and watching MP’s, Leader of the Opposition Thomas Mulcair, Leader of the Liberal Party Justin Trudeau, and Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper, all critique each other’s policies and stances has also increased by analytical skill. This has also encouraged me to observe partisan policies, and politics, ever more closely in order to understand which policy path our nation might head down in the upcoming elections.
As always I would like to thank NCCAR for this invaluable experience. I would also like to thank NCCAR for taking an active role in breaking the barrier to entry of politically active youth in to government, as well as providing us with a treasure of knowledge and experience. I hope that NCCAR continues its work, via this internship, in continuing to get young Canadians ever more politically active, and politically knowledgeable regarding our country.
Posted on July 06, 2015