1st MPP Placements: Maddy & MPP Laurie Scott

For my first MPP placement, which was my government placement, I had the distinct pleasure of working in the office of MPP Laurie Scott. MPP Scott represents the riding of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock (HKLB) and is a member of the Progressive Conservative party. In addition to her duties as a regular Member, during my placement MPP Scott was also the Chair of the Standing Committee of Infrastructure and Heritage Policy. With her nearly 20 years of experience in elected office at Queen’s Park, the chance to work for MPP Scott provided an unparalleled opportunity to gain insight into Ontario provincial politics. 

As part of my daily work in the office, I engaged with administrative tasks, legislative research and writing, and communications operations. I coordinated with the constituency office, arranged and participated in stakeholder meetings, crafted social media and press content, and drafted speeches for in and out of the House. The chance to attend events, announcements, and receptions with MPP Scott was also a wonderful and regular occurrence throughout this placement.  

One of the highlights of my placement with MPP Scott was getting to know the riding of HKLB itself. I was lucky enough to spend three days in the riding. During this visit, I had the chance to gain a deeper understanding of the important work of constituency offices, familiarized myself with the unique issues faced by rural ridings in Ontario, and got to the know the character of the great people who make HKLB the place it is. Another highlight of my placement was contributing to MPP Scott’s long-term passion of advocating for the safety of vulnerable populations and victim’s rights in Ontario. Her commitment to this work is truly admirable. Fortunately, over the course of my placement, I worked closely with MPP Scott to draft and table a Motion relating to this file. The Motion itself advocated for the rights of those negatively affected by artificial intelligence/deepfake pornography, a meaningful step in promoting victim’s rights in the era of rapid technological development.   

I want to say a profound thank you to MPP Scott, and the entirety of Team Scott, for welcoming and supporting me. Finally, I would be remiss to not mention the copious amounts of Kawartha Dairy ice cream I consumed as one other sweet point of my placement.