Posted by Geoff Scott on 5/12/2004, 2:34 pm Our politicians try to do a good job. Between "I'm a little bit stretched." That would be the classic John Bryden understatement of a very long day. "He's constantly on the go, having to keep abreast of several things at once," sighs Bryden's administrative assistant, Elisa Ruiz. "People don't understand how much work goes into being a Member of Parliament." For a backbencher among a sea of Ontario Liberals, John Bryden quietly but assuredly makes his mark in the Chrétien government. He is forever working his personal contacts, or sitting at the computer or on the phone, and making use of the reporting/editing talents honed during his years at The Spectator, and the Toronto Star and Globe & Mail. Having walked in Mr. Bryden's shoes for the same territory (Hamilton-Wentworth) for the better part of 16 years, I confess to being astonished at his killer of a schedule: 9:15 a.m. 9:45 a.m. 10:10 a.m. 11 a.m. 11:15 to noon Noon to 12:45 p.m. Approaching 1 p.m.: 2 p.m. 3 p.m. 4 p.m. 5:10 p.m. (approx.) 5:30p.m. 5:40-6 p.m. 7-9 p.m. 10 pm.-11 p.m. 10:45 p.m. 11:10 p.m. Link: http://www.johnbrydenmp.com/newsstories.html
A Snapshot of an MPs Day on Parliament Hill
Article printed in the Ancaster News, April 18, 2001
elections, however, few voters get to see or read
about how demanding and intruding the work of
our elected representatives can be. This is a
behind-the-scenes look at how events affect the
everyday lives of the men and women we send to
Queen's Park or Parliament Hill or Hamilton City
Council. This week - the second in a three-part
series - Geoff Scott shadows the Federal Member
of Parliament for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamorough-
Aldershot, John Bryden, on a typical day in Ottawa:
- The MP arrives after a half-hour walk from his home in the Somerset-Booth area of Ottawa. John's recent cold has resurfaced. As he glances at his Tuesday schedule, he is instructing his staff to call the Whip's Office to get him on the list of speakers for at least two debates. "I don't need to tell you of the delicacy of this subject," he smiles as he points to the special day-long debate on an independent inquiry into the Shawinigan-Grand-Mere Affair.
- Citizenship & Immigration technical briefing: After a brisk five-block walk, accompanied by Melissa Marcil, Mr. Bryden's parliamentary assistant (researcher), we arrive a few minutes late. A discussion has been raging over the word "conjugal." Mr. Bryden begins to rail against a proposed bill's reference to a common-law relationship ("surely there's a distinction between heterosexual and same-sex couples, else how in the heck do you - ?") At this point, London MP Joe Fontana, the chair, gently chastises his colleague for arriving late and going over the same ground, saying he'll send John a note later in the day.
- Fast five-block walk back to John's parliamentary office: Greeted by three Alliance Quebec members "the road warriors against the separatist government's unilingual French policies. "If we had half the rights the French have outside Quebec, we'd be much further ahead," they say. The MP agrees, and promptly gets invited to speak to the English-rights movement meeting next time he's in Montréal.
- Coffee break in eighth-floor Confederation Building cafeteria: John is truly excited by the meeting just completed, but his mind is focussed on the afternoon's task: a "clean-up" speaker for the Government during the Opposition's motion for an independent inquiry into the Prime Minister's hotel-golf course matter. John Bryden is relied upon by the powers-that-be to speak on 10-minutes' notice on almost any subject. His mission: to demolish any leftover arguments and bring a Big Hollywood (read Liberal) Finish to the debate. Today's will be no ordinary clean-up task.
- Correspondence, phone calls, research on future speeches: "Forgive me, Geoff," says John firmly as I leave for a while. "Staff will know that I need long periods of concentration." Of all the MPs I have known representing this area, journalist/historian Bryden stands out as the most cerebral, almost professorial. And yet, he can get truly excited when meeting his constituents, or delegations, as follows:
- Meet delegation from Rural & Suburban Service Couriers: Three of them (including Lawrence Zwiep, of Ancaster) are fanning out to 80 MPs to plead for fairness in competing for tenders with Canada Post. They're talking about a high-powered petition to move the government. Bryden advises; "Petitions don't do a thing. It's a meaningless exercise. You're far better off doing what we're doing now." The entrepreneurs leave pumped and happy; so is John after an exhilarating meeting.
- "How are we doing for time?" John somewhat wearily asks Elisa and Melissa as they ply him with still more notes, files and phone messages. His head-cold seems to be flaring up again, but he can't stop: "Normally I go upstairs and get a soup and a roll, and bring it back down here." We did.
- Question Period time: We head over to the House of Commons for the liveliest hour of each Parliamentary day. It's particularly raucous today because of the combined opposition assault on the Liberals over 'Shawinigate.' Our MP is still not certain whether he'll make the roster of government speakers late this afternoon, but he's getting psyched.
- Making contact with cabinet ministers, fellow MPs: John Bryden will be on deck "as an early Liberal" during this evening's emergency debate on the foot-and-mouth disease. "Early," John learns, will be around 10:30 that night. He briefly consults with Agriculture Minister Lyle VanClief.
- Drop-in reception for the Sihk Faith Celebration: The Prime Minister makes a quick appearance, but, like our MP, Mr. Chrétien has far more weighty matters on his mind today.
- The Official Opposition is running out of speakers, and Mr. clean-up is on. The Honourable Member for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Aldershot speaks for only three or four minutes, but it's enough to make his point about Stockwell Day's motion: "What the (Opposition) Leader did in impugning the honesty of the Prime Minister was that he impugned the honesty of every member in this House. This debate...is about a leader who has in fact broken his own eighth commandment, which is about harming the reputation of another individual. That is precisely what was said here."
- Meets with Canadian Wheat Board: "Good for an MP from Southern Ontario to meet with guys from Saskatchewan."
- Meets fellow Hamilton-Niagara MPs in Regional Caucus.
- Private dinner with friends off Parliament Hill: This was John's first opportunity in 12 hours to put his feet up and restore some energy to battle his cold.
- Back in House of Commons for emergency debate: Our MP is refreshed and ready for his expected 10:30 p.m. intervention in the deadly-serious debate on the possibility of the dreaded hoof-and-mouth disease jumping the pond and causing devastation of Canada's agricultural industry. John Bryden suggests "this crisis signals a larger issue to the next generation of Canadians." Citing the recent mysterious illness of an African woman in a Hamilton hospital, Bryden says "the new threat to national security may be the very scary diseases out there that affect - and can kill - humans."
- His voice by now croaking at the end of his speech, John Bryden sits down to wrap up a day that began with a walk from his home 14 hours earlier.
- I drive the MP home: As I drop off the Honourable Member for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough, etc. at his circa 1912 rented apartment, John Bryden discusses the day's agenda, mentally checking off each event with satisfaction. "Oh, well, tomorrow's another day." Our MP should sleep well tonight.
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