On Wednesday, the U of T Model Parliament kicked off its inaugural session at Queen’s Park. The simulation, chaired by Trinity College student Michael Motola, aims to replicate—to the smallest detail—the business of Ontario’s parliament in two separate sessions, for high school and university students respectively.
UTMP hosted a mock “election day” at the Munk Centre on Saturday, Feb. 6, to elect party leaders, form caucuses, and talk smack. This week the group will run its simulation in the legislative chamber at Queen’s Park, where the business of the province takes place when parliament is sitting. Participants will mimic the political parties who occupy the chamber, representing the Liberals, the NDP, and the Progressive Conservatives.
“Instead of creating an artifice of government, as many model parliaments do, we hope to keep the focus on debate as much as possible,” research director Patrick Baud told The Varsity. “Many simulations of this kind become partisan to their detriment.”
While parties will exist, opposition MPPs will have the opportunity to amend the two major bills presented by the Liberal government and these amendments will be voted on by parliament at large. No party discipline will be enforced, so participants will be free to vote against their parties and cross the floor if they are dissatisfied with their party’s performance.
The two major bills in the senior session will concern education and the environment. While the junior session will also debate education, its second bill will address aboriginal healthcare. Organizers have arranged for Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, an assistant professor in U of T’s social work faculty, to testify.
