14 Tips on Appearing Before a Parliamentary Committee

An effective presentation before a committee requires good planning and preparation. But what about the meeting itself? Here are some quick tips on how to conduct yourself when testifying before a parliamentary committee. 1. Confirm logistics with the Clerk, either the day before or earlier in the day for an afternoon or evening appearance. Are there any…

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5 Reasons Advocacy Fails

Often I hear organizations complain about how they mounted an advocacy campaign but did not achieve the success they sought. Here are the five most common reasons advocacy attempts fail. 1. A lack of patience. Advocacy takes time and too often groups give up before they achieve success because they lack the patience that advocacy…

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Offer Solutions Not Only Criticism

When advocating for change, be sure to offer solutions, not just criticism. Too often organizations spend more time identifying the problem then they spend identifying potenital solutions. Policy makers are not always subject matter experts and you can make their job much easier if you identify potential poliy changes which can address a problem. By providing…

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Advocacy and Election Campaigns

An Executive Director of a charitable organization recently told me that with a federal election looming , her organization is pulling back from advocacy and communication efforts. While the attention of federal politicians of all stripes is currently focussed on the impending budget and a potential election campaign, advocacy and awareness efforts should not be…

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Awareness “Day”

Last week I was asked by a non-profit organization to help them draft a proclamation recognizing a particular day as a day of awareness for their issue. In this case, my advice was to pursue a motion in the Legislature instead as their aim was to educate and bring awareness to their issue through dialogue.…

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Keep the Meeting on Topic

The other day I was having a chat with a friend who mentioned he had just met with his local MLA, who is also a member of the provincial Cabinet. My friend talked about how surprised he was when the Minister started expressing frustration with him about policies he would like to change and asking for my friend’s…

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