Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Flinton’s Henry Hasler will be headed to Queen’s Park next week to serve as a Page in the Legislative Assembly in Toronto.
The 13-year-old North Addington Education Centre Grade 8 student was selected from a number of applications across the province to take part in the unique educational program. He will hold the Page position from Nov. 14 to Dec. 14, serving as a messenger on the floor of the Legislative Chamber while meeting key parliamentary figures and learning firsthand about Ontario’s system of government.
“Originally I didn’t want to apply, but my mom convinced me to,” Hasler admits. “We had to write an essay on why we think we’d be a good fit with the program. We had to write about our qualifications, our inter-personal skills and reasons why we’d be a good fit.”
Successful applicants also have to hold at least an 80 per cent average grade.
His reluctance turned to exuberance when he got the call.
“I was really excited about it. I think I ran right around the house,” he said of when he heard he’d been selected.
A typical day of a Page will begin at 8 a.m. at Queen’s Park where they will arrive in uniform and prepare the Legislative Chamber for the morning’s debates. From there they are involved in a number of activities such as taking classes in legislative process and mathematics, delivering messages and water to the MPPs in the Chamber and also meeting with key legislative players such as party leaders and the Speaker of the House. During his time he’ll be assisting all MPPs from across all ridings, not just his home riding of Hastings-Lennox and Addington.
“(I’m looking forward to) getting to meet a lot of new people and learning more about the legislative history and politics,” said Hasler. “I was kind of considering politics as a career. I actually didn’t know the Page program existed until around July when I applied. Politics has always been an interest to me and I’ve always kind of wanted to get into it.”