A new fall session and a new perspective in the House of Commons…

Originally published on the DaninOttawa.com site on September 21, 2012.


One unique aspect of a Government majority that I learned about first hand when I arrived in the House of Commons for the first time last fall was that having a majority of the seats means that some of the government caucus will actually be on the other side of the House sitting with members of the opposition. There are a group of us Government MP’s who sat opposite in what we called “the Conservative Corner Caucus” (traditionally referred to as 'the rump'). While we were separated from many of the our caucus colleagues, it was an enjoyable experience as we developed some great camaraderie and also got to better know many members of the Opposition.

It was a bit of a surprise to find out that the House seating order within Government has been rotated and I now find myself on the Government back benches behind our Prime Minister and almost directly across from the Leader of the Opposition. If this were a hockey game there is no question that this would be a more expensive seat. On that note while the NHL hockey season is on hiatus now is the perfect time to come out and support your local junior hockey club. The seats are not only more affordable, the quality of the hockey is first-rate and there are some great games. Last Friday I shared the honour of dropping the puck for the BCHL home opener game for the West Kelowna Warriors and the visiting Canadian Junior Hockey defending champion Penticton Vees. It was a great game that went into double overtime before Penticton narrowly squeaked out a victory. I suspect this will be a great rivalry for the duration of season and I encourage hockey fans to get out and support our outstanding local junior hockey programs.