Home	TIPS FOR MEETING WITH YOUR MP

General

Meetings with politicians are generally most effective and easiest to obtain in their constituency (local riding) office. Be as flexible as possible on the timing of meetings. Be sure to indicate that you are a constituent and you wish to meet with your Member of Parliament (MP) in his or her office. Typically, you should request a minimum of a half-hour meeting, although the meeting may well run longer.

Try to familiarize yourself with the MP prior to the meeting. For more information you can visit the Parliament of Canada website at www.parl.gc.ca . Party websites can be helpful too. Most parties provide a bio for each of their MPs.
The federal party websites are:
      www.liberal.ca,
     www.conservative.ca,
      www.ndp.ca
      www.bloc.org.

1. Arranging a meeting with your Member of Parliament

The easiest way to begin the process is to phone your MP’s constituency office and request a meeting to discuss your issue. Some offices will ask of a written meeting request outlining what you wish to discuss. Such a request is helpful as it allows the staff to obtain whatever briefing notes have been prepared by their party’s research bureau. It also gives the MP some background for your meeting. Most MPs like to have some idea of the topic to be discussed in advance. Make it clear that you wish to meet with the MP and not just their staff. Stress the fact that the issue does impact the riding through your university or companies involved in astronomy. We have drafted a sample meeting request letter for you which can be found on the website.

Remember when booking the meeting be sure to tell the MP’s assistant the names of all the people who will be attending the meeting with you (no more than three people, including yourself). Ask if anyone else will be attending from the MP’s office and bring sufficient copies of your presentation and background material.

2. Conducting the Meeting

Arrive early and do not over-stay. Begin the meeting by introducing yourself. Include your full-time position and your affiliation with the Long Range Plan and/or the Coalition for Canadian Astronomy. When MPs meet with their constituents they want to understand the nature of the issue; how it is affecting you - their constituent - as well as others in their constituency; and what you want them to do to help. Be courteous and respectful at all times.

We must assume that the MP is not familiar with the LRP, the Coalition for Canadian Astronomy or the importance of astronomy to Canada. Therefore, you will have to start from the beginning in terms of explaining the impact and importance of astronomy and the LRP. Wherever possible relate the benefits of the LRP directly to the community so the MP understands that it is not simply an academic issue but one that impacts on their constituency. That is what will get his or her attention and, ideally, his or her support for the issue at hand.

We have also prepared a backgrounder that you should leave with the MP and his/her staff as a quick reminder of your concerns. The most important part of the meeting is to tell the MP what you need them to do and when.

In this case you must make it clear that you are asking the MP to write and/or call the Ministers of Finance and Industry and ask them to support and fund the remaining elements of the LRP.

Be careful about making commitments and do not make promises you cannot keep. Use open-ended questions to solicit information from the MP, remembering you are there to listen as well as to present your case. Respond non-defensively to verbal criticism, should it occur. Try not to be evasive when answering questions. If you do not know the answer, say so, but indicate that you would be happy to follow-up with them after the meeting

Finally, ensure that you leave enough time in the meeting for questions and discussion following your presentation to allow the MP to tell you what he/she is going to do on your behalf. If the MP is supportive make sure you ask him/her for a firm commitment to write or speak to the Ministers. Ask the Member for a staff contact that you can deal with on this matter and follow up with that person to ensure the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Industry have been contacted.

3. Follow up is critical

After the meeting you may wish to exchange business cards with the MP to signal your interest in establishing an on-going relationship. Also indicate your availability for future meetings at their convenience. Always say “thank you”, regardless of the outcome of the meeting.

MPs are faced with literally hundreds of issues each day. Do not assume that just because an MP said that he/she would write a letter that this will be done in a timely fashion. That is why getting a staff contact is so important. This will ensure you do not have to call or meet with the MP every time to enquire about follow-up. If the MP indicated that he/she would support your request follow-up with his/her office in a few weeks to confirm he/she has followed through on that commitment. If the MP has spoken or written to the Minister of Finance or Minister of Industry, follow-up later to see what type of response was received.

4. Write a thank you letter

MPs need to feel that constituents appreciate their efforts. Writing a thank you letter will be additional motivation for the MP to act on your issue. Attached is a sample letter for you to use.

Conclusion

We are trying to demonstrate to the Government the importance of continued funding of the LRP. The easiest way to so is to have a variety of MPs speak and/or write to the Ministers of Finance and Industry on this issue. The greater the number of MPs engaged in the process the stronger our case will be. We need your help in ensuring that MPs understand that this issue is something that needs their immediate attention.

Following your meeting, please remember to complete the Member Action Response Form found on the website. Please let us know who you met with, the date of the meeting and any other relevant comments from the meeting.