Last Monday, I began my first term placement in the office of Vic Fedeli, MPP for Nippissing and Progressive Conservative critic for Energy. Although the House is not sitting and most MPPs from outside the GTA have headed back to their constituencies for the holidays, Vic and his Executive Assistant, Clint Thomas, welcomed me onto their team with open arms and got me started right away on important research for the upcoming session in February 2012. The placement in Mr. Fedeli’s office promises to be a busy and rewarding one, with the former businessman and mayor of North Bay given a range of responsibilities during his first term as an MPP.
As someone who is passionate about and interested in Ontario’s energy future, I couldn’t be happier to be working on Vic’s critic portfolio. Energy will continue to be a central and contentious issue at Queen’s Park, especially during a time of economic turbulence and minority government. And what better way to learn the file than to work for the Opposition Critic!
Vic also works on the PC Job Creation Task Force, a team that will focus on bringing forward new ideas for private-sector job creation while getting government spending under control. At a time of unusually high unemployment in Ontario, it will be fascinating to see what ideas this team of high-profile PCs will propose to get Ontarians back to work. Finally, as the MPP for the northernmost riding captured by the Tories in the October 2011 election, Vic is also the go-to guy for party on northern issues. As someone who came of age in southern Ontario, this offers a perfect opportunity for me to better understand the different challenges and opportunities of Northern Ontarians. I look forward to heading up to North Bay to spend some time working in Vic’s constituency office.
This will be my last blog post until the New Year, so I’ll end it off by wishing Vic and Clint, as well as my fellow interns, a merry Christmas and best of luck in 2012!
OLIP Unplugged 