Students Learn What It's Like To Be a Politician

Students from across Nova Scotia are gathering in Halifax this weekend, May 23-25, to get a first-hand look at life in politics.

Fifty-two senior high school students, representing each riding in the province, will spend the weekend learning about the work of MLAs, civil servants and the media at the first-annual Model Legislature. The students will attend workshops, divide into party caucuses and hold mock debates at Province House. The weekend is designed to be educational, interactive and fun for the students.

"Being a cabinet minister and member of the legislative assembly, I can tell you that experience is a great teacher when it comes to government and politics," said Education Minister Angus MacIsaac. "That is why the Nova Scotia Department of Education has begun the annual Model Legislature. It will give students a chance to experience first-hand how government works."

MLA Mary Ann McGrath will deliver the opening speech tonight, May 23, at the students' dinner at Howe Hall, Dalhousie University. On Saturday morning, May 24, the students will hear about the life of a member of the legislative assembly from MLA and former cabinet minister Dr. Jim Smith.

Other workshops on Saturday morning will include The Bureaucracy, hosted by Wayne Doggett, the Department of Education's executive director of corporate policy; and The Role of the Media, where students will have the chance to participate in a life-like media scrum.

On Saturday afternoon Murray Scott, Speaker of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and assistant clerk Arthur Fordham will introduce the students to the ways of the legislature. Once the students know all the dos and don'ts of parliamentary behaviour, they'll launch into debates on the voting age (Saturday afternoon) and smoking (Sunday morning).

Workshops and legislature sessions are open to the media.