Gould as a parliamentarian in the House of Commons - the most exciting time of her life.

By Pepper Parr

December 14, 2015

BURLINGTON, ON

We see the candidates when they are knocking on our door asking for our vote. We might listen to them during a debate, we might see them at an event – what they do in Ottawa, sitting as a Member of the House of Commons, is something we know very little about.

Karina Gould was elected to the House of Commons on October 19th – ask her what impacted her the most when she took her seat and she will tell you “voting in the House of Commons”.

The House of Commons met December 4th to hear the speech from the Throne. In that month and a half Karina Gould entered a whole new world where she would be intellectually changed and emotionally taken right over the top.

A 28 year old graduate with a several degrees and experience as a trade specialist with the Organization of American States, she now serves as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development – an assignment she says she was not interviewed for – they just told her what the assignment was.

As Parliamentary Secretary Gould speaks for the Minister when the Minister is not in the House and is tied tightly to the mandate the Minister has. The appointment fits very nicely with Gould’s private work experience.

The early Gould voting record. That, given that ISIS has taken responsibility for recent deadly attacks in Paris, Beirut, and Africa, and has declared war on Canada, this House: ( a) acknowledge that now is not the time for Canada to step back and force our allies to take on a heavier burden in the fight against ISIS; (b) remind the government of its obligation to our NATO partners and its responsibility to protect the freedom, democracy, safety, and security of Canadians; (c) call upon the government to maintain the air-combat mission of the RCAF CF-18 fighter jets; (d) express its appreciation to the members of the Canadian Armed Forces for their participation in the fight against terror; and (e) reconfirm our commitment to our allies to stop ISIS.

As the member of the House of Commons for Burlington she would speak on matters that are important to Burlingtonians. In our interview with Karina she commented that the city now has a different voice speaking on their behalf and while she didn’t explicitly say what that voice would sound like she did say there was now a different attitude and approach to representing her constituents.

There is a deliberateness to the approach Gould takes to what she does. She is very much a team player, she doesn’t pull rank, she listens, rather widely actually, which is something her predecessor didn’t manage to do.

She doesn’t fudge her answers – in one interview she said: “I don’t at least four times” because she didn’t know.

While she can certainly be partisan that is not her prime focus – the mandate she has given herself is to represent the people of Burlington – their politics are not her concern.
The House of Commons is just one part of the world of a parliamentarian – the Caucus is something else. Gould wouldn’t – she actually couldn’t – say what goes on in Caucus – which is the time when the political party gathers to hear what the leader of the party has to say and then to listen to what the members of the party want to say.

The Member and the party leader: Karina Gould and Justin Trudeau

The health and vitality of a Caucus meeting is set by the leader – Gould reports that her first Caucus meeting taught her that having Justin Trudeau as the leader is about as good as it is going to get. Trudeau to the country that the government was going to be led by the Cabinet – his was not going to be a one man band.

For Karina Gould this has to be one of the most exciting times of her life – the Gazette intends to watch her growth and to hold her accountable to the community she serves.