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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday January 10, 2007 - 27 Youth adds Page to his resume By Sabrina Byrnes OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Adam Kelly got a taste of politics and responsibility recently at Queen's Park. The 13-year-old Grade 8 student at New Central Public School was one of 20 youths who participated in a recent six-week Page Program at Queen's Park. He was accepted from several hundred students who applied all over Ontario. Kelly had originally applied to the program when he was in Grade 7 after his principal suggested the idea, but was not accepted as another Oakville student was already enrolled. Grade 8 rolled around and he tried again. Only Grade 7 and 8 students with an 80 per cent or higher grade point average are eligible to apply. "Adam's passion is information," said his mom, Donna. "He likes to learn about lots of different things, and that's why the teachers at his school thought he would be a great candidate, because he's very passionate about knowledge." Kelly only had a basic knowledge of politics before entering the program, but as the six weeks went by and Kelly became immersed in the daily activities of Queen's Park, his knowledge grew, as did the knowledge of his parents, as their dinner conversations often began turning to politics. "Our dinner conversations were pretty interesting because Adam would come home and share with us what bill got passed that day or what was discussed," Donna said. "I think it made me tune in to provincial politics a little bit more than I probably would have in the past," she said, commenting about her son's involvement in the Page program. Donna said she even became more familiar with the names of the MPPs. Kelly became very familiar with the names of the members because one of the first things he had to do was learn the names and faces of all 103 of them with less than two months to do so. "I had to learn every member, their face, their name, first and last name and where they sit," Kelly said, adding SABRINA BYRNES / OAKVILLE BEAVER ANOTHER CHAPTER: Adam Kelly, 13, was recently part of the Parliamentary Page program at Queen's Park. that was the most challenging part. ments to the MPPs in the chamber and "We were stunned because we to their offices. They had a legislature couldn't remember them even after process class and sat in the Legislative working with him, but he could," Chamber learning first-hand about the Donna said. Ontario government. The program commenced Sept. 25 Kelly experienced 12-hour working and ended six weeks later on Nov. 6. days during those six weeks as he had During the six weeks the 20 Pages to catch the 7 a.m. GO train, then the would prepare the MPPs' desks by plac- subway to Queen's Park, and arrived ing necessary documents in their back home at 7 p.m. binders, delivered messages and docuKelly said it was a good feeling to be accepted into the program and admitted one of the best parts was that he was off school. The Legislative Page Program is accepted by the school board as a substitute for its core subjects during that time except for math. The students had allotted time twice a week where they would participate in a math class to keep up. At Halloween, the student's Art grade was based on an assignment of carving a pumpkin with something related to the legislature, so Kelly carved the coat of arms. Part of the students' grade included their participation in a mock debate between the pages in which Kelly wrote a bill proposing private healthcare should become available after 30 days of waiting. Kelly said the most common issue discussed in the chamber was healthcare and overcrowded waiting rooms. Since the House didn't sit on Friday's, the pages were taken out on the occasional field trip to The Opera House or City Hall, and one Friday Kelly and the other Pages were responsible for training new pages. "Don't be nervous, it's okay to make a mistake," was the advice Kelly gave to the new pages. He added there were a few occasions where he made a mistake of delivering a document to the wrong person, but no one got upset with him. Kelly found everyone respected the pages. "They treat you as an adult," Kelly said. MPP Kevin Flynn took him out for lunch one day. Kelly's father Terry said Beaches East York MPP Michael Prue was very nice to the kids as well. Kelly admitted it was exciting on the days debate was heated. Kelly's parents were able to sit in the members' gallery and watch him in action and they also tuned into the Legislative channel at home. "It was a great experience for us too because we wouldn't have had this kind of exposure, we wouldn't have gone down there as many times as we did," said Terry. "Even for us to attend the orientation and get the tour and all of that stuff. So just to be along for the ride we certainly learned a lot and feel more part of the process," he said. Donna noted that she has seen a very positive change in her son. "Increase in maturity level, being responsible for himself, without being there for him. He was on his own those 12 hours every day," she said. Kelly doesn't know if his future is in politics, as his interests vary from business and cooking to playing drums and hockey, but he admits he's had a good taste of it. 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