The Ontario Broker - August 2019 - 27

involved in representing constituents at the
ground level."
Travel isn't limited to Ontario. The
internship includes comparative study
tours to visit different legislatures to learn
about governance models and how things
work differently in other provinces and
countries. "We went to Belfast, Northern
Ireland and London, England. In Yellowknife
we spent a week learning about consensus
style government-their government's very
different from ours," said Nikki.
Interns are required to complete an
academic research paper they present at the
Canadian Political Science Association's
annual conference, held in Vancouver this
year. "My research was on the need for more
training for MPP office staff, both in their
constituency and their legislative offices,"
said Peter. "It turns out most MPPs' staff get
a one-day orientation at most. This in itself
raises turnover at Queen's Park."
Each intern is responsible for a committee
assignment. "The assignment varies from
planning our Queen's Park receptions
to organizing our study tours to social
media-I was responsible for sponsorship,"
said Nikki.
Since OLIP is a registered charity, funding
comes from sponsors and grants. The IBAO
has served as Lead Sponsor of OLIP for
the past 9 years. "It's important to have
talented, well-informed leaders, whether or
not they end up in government," says IBAO
Director of Operations Brett Boadway. "Our
sponsorship of OLIP shows our support of
these future leaders."
Education Minister Lecce knows firsthand
the positive impact an internship can have
on people's career trajectory. Prior to his
time in office, he interned at the IBAO for
two summers. "I believe that experience, in
addition to being involved in politics in my
community, gave me the confidence to run
for public office and affect positive change
for the people I represent."

WWW.IBAO.ORG

The 2019 OLIP Interns
Entering its 44th year, OLIP has a strong
roster of alumni including Mitchell
Davidson-Executive Director, StrategyCorp
Institute of Public Policy and Economy,
Patrick Kelly-Caucus Liaison, Office of
the Premier of Ontario and Chelsea Peet-
Consul & Senior Economic Officer, USA,
Ontario Government. "We have an amazing
group of alumni that support the program
and want to invest their time in the interns
every year," said Nikki.
A big part of the internship is meeting with
people to learn about other sectors and how
policy intersects with their interests.
"We have meetings with former premiers,
journalists, think tanks and NGOs. We sit
down with them for an hour or two to learn
what they do, what their mandate is and
what their asks of the government are," said
Peter. "Many of the interns going into this
internship knew next to nothing about the
insurance industry. Meetings we had with

27

IBAO and with brokers when we were with
our MPPs taught us so much about the
barriers to cheaper auto insurance and the
regulations that would lead to change."
"I can't stress enough how integral
this program was to my personal and
professional growth. I couldn't be more
grateful," said Nikki. "The interns really
bond and get to know one another. I learned
something from each and every one and
that's very special to me. The relationships
we build are truly memorable."
"Were it not for our sponsors, especially
IBAO as Lead Sponsor, we wouldn't have
all these chances to go out and meet people
and learn the things we do," said Peter.
"The networks we form and the skills and
knowledge we acquire-we're able to put
to good use further down the road. That in
itself is invaluable. I can say very easily that
OLIP is one of the best things that's ever
happened to me."

AUGUST 2019
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The Ontario Broker - August 2019

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