On October 26th, a delegation of B.PAPM students travelled to Toronto and Queen’s Park, where we not only sat in on Question Period but were also treated to exclusive briefings from several Members of the Provincial Parliament and senior policy advisors on the contemporary realities of the Ontario Public Service.
We were privileged to hear from Rick Bartolucci, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; MPPs Rosario Marchese and Yasir Naqvi; Drew Fagan, deputy minister of Infrastructure; Melissa Thomson, director of Housing Policy; negotiations analyst Arda Ilgazli; David Combaluzier, senior policy adviser, Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities; and Karim Bardeesy, editorial writer for the Globe and Mail.
The trip, organized by Brian Teefy and other B.PAPM Alumni for B.PAPM students, helped us to understand how public policy is developed practically, the symbiotic relationship between the work of politicians and public servants, and that we are situated to be true change makers within public organizations as we commence our careers.
The chance to witness the successes of several B.PAPM Alumni was both humbling and motivating. We were humbled by the very successes of our Alumni, but also motivated by the fact that we are well equipped to deal with the challenges of the world. With these meetings and conversations in mind, we all left with the common understanding that only genuine purpose, passion and activism will drive our success in the future.
Garima Talwar