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23 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,M ay 19,2022 insidehalton.com MOC.MSIRUOTSLLAFARAGAIN TATHGINREVO RUOYKOOB ⓇARAGAIN EROLPXE# 02YAMGNITRATSMP01TAYLTHGIN SKROWERIF SLLAFARAGAIN Being a Queen's Park page was a "once-in-a-life- time opportunity" for Oak- ville's Adam Fabiano, and one that deepened his inter- est in politics. The experience this spring, although cut short by the election call and dis- solvement of the legisla- ture, helped him under- stand the workings of the legislative process "and see that there are many people that make it all happen," said the 13-year-old Gr. 8 Maple Grove Public School student. "I was really lucky to be a page in the SP-22-3 term as there were only 13 pages se- lected throughout Ontario. Now that the experience is over, I find myself interest- ed in what is happening in politics and the budget, es- pecially because I delivered the last bill of the 42nd Par- liament (the budget) from Minister (Peter) Bethlenfal- vy to the Speaker and then to the clerk's table." Adam found many things "interesting and sur- prising" especially when it came to long held traditions such as not being able to get between the Speaker and the Mace and the bowing each time someone enters or exits the chamber floor. "There is also a process for everything -- orders of the day, Question Period, members' statements, mo- tions and petitions." The biggest lesson he learned, said Adam, was that although the parties have conflicts, "they do sup- port each other and have friendships and relation- ships." "I liked seeing that be- cause I didn't know that they were friends outside of the chamber. It was nice to see they do actually get along." Delivering the actual budget was the highlight of his term, said Adam, who as Page Captain on budget day, participated in the pro- cession of the Mace into the chamber. "The goal is to deliver the budget to each member fas- ter than any other page group, which was 30.2 sec- onds. The MPPs bang on their desk while the budget is delivered. My job was to deliver to the Independent Members. Each budget weighs about a pound and a half because they are in French and English and you carry all 16 pounds of the budget when you start to deliver. You place them on each member's desk and then return to your post. Our group set the record and delivered all 123 bud- gets in a record 28.54 sec- onds." As a Level 4 debater with the Toronto Debate Acade- my, Adam also enjoyed the back and forth between members. "I also like debating be- cause I like learning about different people's ideas and perspectives. "The funniest debate we did was when we were learning the procedures of debate and we debated which was better, chicken nuggets or hamburgers. But usually we debate top- ics such as social norms, minimum wage, and uni- versal public health care." Although he has several interests, including being a wellness ambassador at his school, Adam thinks there is a place for him in politics someday. "I just don't know if that would be on the elected side." 'ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY' NEWS STUDENT ENJOYS TIME AS QUEEN'S PARK PAGE Adam Fabiano meets Premier Doug Ford during his time as a Queen's Park page. Nicole Willett photo