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13 | Friday O ctober 1 3, 2 0 1 7 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | w w w .insidehalton.com Student goes behind the scenes a t Queen's Park by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver Completing the Legislative Page Program was Alessandro De Simone's first step to becoming a politician. The 13-year-old Oakville St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School student recently returned home after finishing the near four-week course at Queen's Park in Toronto. The page program, open to all Ontario students in Grades 7 and 8, provides an opportunity to experience the provincial Legislature in action and to learn about the history and traditions of the Legislative Assembly. Each year, approximately 140 young students from across Ontario are selected to participate in the program. De Simone was there Sept. 11 to Oct. 5. "It was a great experience. Meeting a lot of political figures was great for me. Getting to meet a lot of kids from all over Ontario was great," said De Simone. "Being in the Chamber and seeing what was going on firsthand and how they pass bills was really fun. I really liked the program." De Simone' s interest in the page program can be traced back a few years, when he visited the Ontario Legislature as part of a Grade 5 field trip. Lhe tour fuelled his interest in becoming a politician. "I had an interest in politics before and that was one of the main reasons why I wanted to do it (page program). I'm even more interested in becoming a politician now," said De Simone. "Even though it's a hard-working job, it gives you a chance to make a difference and help people throughout the province or country" He noted the program taught him how the provincial government operates and the role of MPPs and how they "take care of their ridings." "After their time in the chamber, MPPs go back to their ridings and take care of their constituents and any problems when they're not in the Legislature. Lhat was really cool," said De Simone. He also learned MPPs have a very busy schedule since it's a "hard working job," said De Simone. Lhe Oakville teen got an idea of how busy they are through the many conversations he had with some of Alessandro De Simone them. `They get home late and it's a long day for them," said De Simone. Legislative pages meet key parliamentary and political figures, as part of the program, in addition to learning about Ontario^ Parliament. Lhe Grade 8 student met Premier Kathleen Wynne, Ontario Labour Minister and Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Sergeant-at-Arms Jackie Gordon, a former Halton police officer, House Speaker Dave Levac and Clerk Lodd Decker, among others. Conversing with the "cool political figures" was De Simone's favourite part of being a page, he said. "It was great meeting them. I learned a lot from them. It was super cool being able to sit in the room with them. I never thought I would get to do this," said De Simone. Another part of the program De Simone enjoyed was meeting the other participants from across Ontario and forging new friendships with them. De Simone has plans to get together soon with his new pals, as he has their contact information so he can stay in touch with them, he said. "I made a lot of friends. Hopefully we will have a reunion coming up soon," said De Simone. Selected students are excused from school to serve their term as legislative pages and receive an honorarium of $15 a day during their stay Being in the program was "worth" having to catch up on a few weeks worth of school work, De Simone said. "It was a lot of work, but it was a great experience," he said. De Simone recommends other youths participate in the program because of the wonderful opportunity it gave him. "It was really fun. If I was allowed to apply again, I definitely would. It' s tough work to memorize all their names and where they fit. It was well worth it because, in the end, you'll never forget it. It really helped me," said De Simone. "If you're really interested in it and want to get selected, you need a lot of extracurricular activities. You need to participate a lot in your community." As for his future career goals, the 13-year-old is determined to become a politician, despite the amount of work involved, De Simone explained. His ultimate goal is to become premier. "That would be a great job, but from speaking to the Premier, I can tell it's a very busy job. She doesn't have a lot of time to spend in her riding. It would be very hard work, but I'm sure it's worthwhile," said De Simone. "I want to help people. Now that I know what it' s like, I really want to do it as a career." For more information on the program, visit http://discoveryportal. ontla.on.ca/en/youth-programs/pageprogram/about-program. 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