March 2006
Monthly Archive
the Yukon advantage
Posted by squirrley on 28 Mar 2006 | Tagged as: home
One of the nice things about living in the Yukon is our relative access to our MP. Larry Bagnell may not do what you want, but he will always meet with you and hear you out;
and if you’re a Yukoner and you come to Ottawa, he will show you around Parliament.
I met Larry today, and he whisked me through security in the centre block. We went up to his office and then, with his staffer/cameraman lumbering behind, he gave me a full behind-the-scenes tour.
“Here!” he cried. “Have you ever seen those photos of the Prime Minister going up and down the stairs? These are the stairs.” And he had his staffer take a picture of me running down them.
Next we went into the chamber — ordinarily the public can’t get on the floor, but Larry took me straight to where the government and opposition sit, just over two sword lengths apart.
“That’s where the Prime Minister sits.” he said. “You go sit there.” So I sat and his aide took a picture. “Stand up!” he said. “Like you’re speaking to the parliament.” I balked a bit at this. “You must have something to say, on one of your issues. Speak!” So I opened my hands before me and spoke. Click went the camera!
I got to sit in the speaker’s chair while Larry explained that the whole roof was covered in one giant woven piece of Irish linen, with the crests of all the provinces and territories. He and his staffer told the story of the stained glass windows, one for each provincial flower, that were installed as an outcome of the centenary.
Larry showed me the buttons for raising and lowering the Speaker’s chair–when Jeanne Sauve was elected, she was so much smaller than previous speakers that her feet did not touch the floor. So she automated the chair, so it could be raised and lowered to suit.
I am too sleepy to write more, but here is a flicker link to photos of me in the Speaker’s chair, me with various cabinet ministers that Larry accosted as they issued forth from an Ontario caucus meeting (’Hi Bev! I’d like you to meet my constituent.’ And out came the camera). And Larry and I next to Karsh’s iconic photo of Churchill, framed and placed large-as-life against the wooden panelling where it was first taken. We are all bulldoggish and jiggling our jowls, like Churchill, as if Karsh had just snatched our cigars away!!!!