With summer here and the House of Commons in recess I’ve decided to deal with some more easy going topics and leave off the heavy policy stuff in the column at least for this week. So here are some odds and ends.

Have you ever watched the House of Commons and seen some young people dressed in black hurrying back and forth? These are the Pages of the House of Commons and they make sure that the House operates smoothly. They run messages for MPs, help to move the paperwork for petitions and bills, and get things (water, small lecterns etc.) for the MPs speaking. In exchange for their hard work they get to see the political process up close. (They do get paid too.)

So how do you become a Page? Who is eligible? And what does it take?

Pages are university students at the Universities of Ottawa or Carleton, and they must be bilingual to at least an intermediate level. (I’m no expert in French, but the Pages tell me fluency is not a major requirement.) This doesn’t exclude university students from across Canada as students accepted from across the country frequently transfer to the Ottawa Universities for only the year that they work as Pages. In fact each year one or two of the pages are from Saskatchewan.

So if you or someone you know is interested in becoming a House of Commons page in the future, have them contact my office. We’ll give them a hand in applying for the position. It’s a great learning experience for anyone who is interested in how government really works.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament. Write or call my offices to express your views, or if you need our assistance in any way.