ORILLIA KIWANIS CLUB
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President Korine Keyzer called the first Orillia Kiwanis Club lunch meeting of 2020 to order on Monday at Theo’s Eatery in Orillia, where guest speaker Doug Downey, Ontario’s Attorney General, addressed the gathering.
Once lunch was completed, speaker coordinator Ben Cole introduced our guest speaker for the meeting.
Doug Downey, of course, is no stranger to the club members, or to the Orillia community, having been a Kiwanis member for a number of years, including a stint as Club President in 2006, as well as a longtime resident of Orillia.
He came to us Monday, however, as the MPP for Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte (BSOM) and as the current Ontario Attorney General, a position he was appointed to on June 20, 2019, after serving for a year as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance following the 2018 election.
Downey briefly described his “main job” — that of MPP for BSOM — and described how busy his Barrie office is serving the people of his riding.
He also pointed out some of the issues that Barrie and this area are dealing with — the opioid crisis and the need for affordable housing, among them, and indicated he is working with local municipalities and other organizations to address these needs.
But it was his description of his job as Attorney General that revealed the demands that government puts on our politicians.
He has a substantial staff, of course, and noted that his Chief of Staff is at work early in the morning to schedule his day and is ready with that schedule by 8 a.m. each day.
Downey noted the youth of many of the staff members in his Ministry and at Queen’s Park and pointed out that the demands put on these staff members are huge — often involving 12-14 hour days — leading many to relatively short careers in government before they move on.
He also noted the expertise of the Ontario civil service, the “bureaucracy” if you will, who are experienced in the running of government and yet respond to the changing directions whenever an election brings a new government to power at Queen’s Park.
He had high praise for the strength and experience of those he works with.
“They’re really smart people,” he said. They are, collectively, responsible for an estimated 8,000 employees in the judicial system and an annual budget of $850 million.
Downey also highlighted a couple of appointment processes that his Ministry is responsible for and described his hope to improve on the processes currently in place.
Members of the Club were appreciative of being treated by Downey to a brief glimpse of how things work in the corridors of our provincial government.
New Monday’s lunch meeting will feature Ken Walker from Costco as our guest speaker.
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