Both Sides Now: A Roundtable With Parliamentarians Who Previously Worked As Constituency Office Staff

Many newly-elected parliamentarians have little or no experience with the day-to-day activities that occur in constituency offices. Setting up such an office and hiring and training staff likely entails on-the-job learning and a lot of trial and error. However, some incoming parliamentarians have previously worked as staff members in these types of offices. In this roundtable, the Canadian Parliamentary Review speaks with two parliamentarians who have gained experience as both a constituency office employee and employer. This unique perspective allowed them to better empathise with staff, provide them with effective training, and offer their parliamentary colleagues support when they had questions about starting up or managing these offices. However, both participants noted that it can be a challenge to delegate responsibilities they previously had as staff members. They conclude with a call for more non-partisan collaboration among parliamentarians to establish best practices or manuals for these offices. They also suggest political parties should make a point to retain institutional knowledge by speaking to longtime parliamentarians and staff about their experiences to help other parliamentarians and staff from having to reinvent the wheel as there is electoral turnover.

Participants: Katrina Chen, MLA and Elisabeth Prass, MNA

Katrina Chen served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Burnaby-Lougheed (British Columbia) from 2017-2024. Elisabeth Prass has served as the Member of the National Assembly for D’Arcy-McGee (Quebec) since 2022.

Canadian Parliamentary Review: Can you describe your journey in politics? How did you first come to work in a constituency office?

Katrina Chen: I’m originally from Taiwan, and I came here as an international student for my last year of high school before going to Simon Fraser University. When I graduated, I had to decide whether to stay here or go home. At the time, immigration was really tight: you needed to have an employer to apply for a work permit. I was pretty lucky because I volunteered a lot with international student and local community groups. I found my first job working for a nonprofit that focused on advocating for housing for lower- income families. It was community organizing work.

So, I knocked on doors every day, and that really opened my eyes about some of the challenges that local communities faced. Other than working with local residents and families, I also met local elected representatives from three levels of government. And that’s how some local politicians learned of my very diverse background, my ability to speak multiple languages, and to work on a very grassroots level, so I was hired as a constituency assistant (CA). Now, we have changed the title to constituency advisor.

Elisabeth Prass: I started as a policy advisor at cabinet for the Minister of the Status of Women in 2005. Later I spent four years as a policy advisor for the Ministers of Economic Development, and I also worked as a researcher and translator for the government wing of the research department. When I had my kids, I took a three-year leave of absence to be with both my boys (in Montreal) before wanting to get back involved again.

But going back to Quebec City every week wasn’t really an option with two young kids. So, I interviewed for the D’Arcy-McGee constituency office, which is where I grew up and where my mom still lived.

I got along really well with my MNA. He had never been in politics before, I think he appreciated that I had a background in politics. I ran that office for the next seven years.

I was doing government relations work when the last election rolled around, and I was approached to run. I have a son who is on the Autism Spectrum, and I think the driving factor for me to run was to be a voice for families that often don’t have a voice. I figured I would take all the political experience that I accumulated over the last decade.

But, with my personal experience of being the mother of a special needs child, the first thing I did, obviously, was ask my husband and my older son for permission to run. They would be the ones who would be asked, to a certain extent, to deal with the complexity of it.

I was worried about my family situation. But my husband said to me, “If you don’t do it, you’re going to regret it the rest of your life. And, so, we’ll figure it out.” I’m very lucky to have support in that regard.

CPR: Both of you have an interesting perspective because you’ve worked in constituency offices before. I’ve heard it said before that being a parliamentarian is like having a job without a job description. There are so many ways that you can go about the responsibilities that you have. But I’ve also heard that when it comes to working in constituency offices, sometimes the roles are also not necessarily well-defined. I’m interested in knowing what kind of job training you had when you were first hired in a constituency office. Was there any kind of job description or job manual? Were you trained by a predecessor or did the parliamentarian you were working for tell you what they needed you to do?

KC: I would say it was limited, especially given that it sometimes depends on the size of the caucus you’re working for. At the time, federally, the caucus I worked for was a small one. It was before Jack Layton had a bigger win. Then, the provincial caucus was a decent size, but also smaller compared to what it is now that we’re in government.

That being said, while our overall caucus size was rather smaller at the time with limited support, throughout the years, I’ve been really lucky to have worked with many amazing local colleagues who have taught me a lot along the way.

It’s also interesting to note that if you look at the demographics of constituency advisors or assistants, many are predominantly women. There’s a lot of multitasking, lots of different jobs that we have to do – from office tasks, casework, advocacy, event organizing to running all types of errands.

I would say in terms of resources, it could be limited given how busy the nature of the work could be. There are some. There are manuals or booklets that you can go through. But it is really the people who help you to learn how to do the job. I was always very lucky to work with people who had a lot of good experience. They helped me along the way.

CPR: Elisabeth, did you have any kind of training when you first started?

EP: No. I would say that, whether it was in cabinet or was in constituency office, you’re kind of pushed into it, and it’s sink or swim. There’s not a lot of time to train you, especially in cabinet as everybody’s busy.

I think what helped me in the constituency office was having worked in cabinet. My Minister and I worked with his constituency office, so I had an idea of what the day-to-day duties were. The experience of working with the cabinet also helped me guide my Member of Parliament because he was new to politics. I think he relied a lot on me being able to provide advice and steer him based on what I knew.

And I’ve actually found through the years there’s less and less resources, if you will. When we were in government, there were training sessions where we would bring all the riding offices together to give them a bit of an idea of what the day-to-day was like. We would do some mock scenarios to prepare them. I don’t know if it’s simply because we’re not in government anymore or if things are just progressing this way, but I feel like there are less resources in terms of getting you oriented. If you’re getting into politics for the first time, it can be very disorienting. No two days are alike, and you never know what’s going to happen.

KC: I really echo what Elisabeth is saying. When I was in cabinet, my ministerial advisers came in with very diverse backgrounds, but often with limited support or training to prepare for the job to start. I think it’s also important to define what type of training and orientation people need. Something that works for one office doesn’t necessarily work for another office, right?

Then, depending on your community, there are going to be different needs in rural communities compared to more urban settings.

We should have a big conversation about how well we are providing support for our staff members, especially when it comes to the diverse tasks that they’re dealing with, the stress, and of course meeting with people on the frontline and dealing with challenging situations. I thank you, Elisabeth, for mentioning that, because I think the support piece is something that we should totally talk about.

EP: Well, just to add to what you’re saying, Katrina, I think training is also to the benefit of the constituents. It is to the benefit of the functioning of the office because the more familiar you are, the more you know, and the more you can help. Okay, if I have a constituent with a problem with healthcare, then this is the number for a person who can help. That makes your job a lot easier.

KC: That’s right.

EP: You can serve your constituents much better. You don’t need to have all the answers at once, but at least you know where to direct yourself. Just to give you an example, when I was working in the constituency office, it took us four years to put together our own master list of phone numbers. There was no list that was sent to us. I don’t think that should be the norm. We would share our list with other offices.

CPR: That’s quite interesting. Having worked in these offices before, when you were first setting up your own constituency office, did you rely on the same kind of training, if there was any, for your staff? Or did you provide individual training to them? Elisabeth, you mentioned that you offered to speak to some of the other caucus members, but what did you do for your own staff since you had the benefit of working in that environment before?

EP: I was lucky because the person who runs my office now was someone who I trained when I left my job at the constituency office. I prepared him with not only a list of different contact information but also told him, “If this happens, this is what to do.”

I was very fortunate because I was able to train him at a point where I had the time I needed to train him well. It was hands-on learning, and then he paid that forward to our other staff members.

I was lucky in that regard but, either way, I would have wanted to pass on my experience to them. I always say, “There are no wrong questions. You’re never bothering me. I’d rather you ask than try and figure it out because over seven years I’ve kind of seen it all.”

KC: I would say it should be a bit of a hybrid. You count on all the diverse experiences to help you look through the manual and see what’s missing. But you also have the people who worked as a constituency assistant or in a constituency office who provide good insight into the day-to-day work. It’s especially useful when we’re collective bargaining with our staff because it adds perspective.

CPR: Were there any specific tips that you provided to the people that you hired? Anything that stands out in your mind? Obviously, every day is a different kind of day, but did you offer key points for them to remember in terms of finding their feet or maintaining a good work-life balance in a challenging environment?

EP: I think the most valuable piece of information for myself and for others is, “don’t be afraid to use your resources.” We have people in comms, we have researchers. If you don’t know something and you can’t get through to me, you can actually ask them questions.

We all have different experiences and draw on different knowledge. If we can share that amongst one another, it’s very useful. Something may have happened elsewhere that is similar to a situation we have. You learn from others’ successes but also their mistakes. I think collaboration and information and communication are very important.

KC: I fully agree with what Elisabeth said. And I have a funny story.

When I first became an MLA, I was using a lot of my background knowledge, both federally and provincially, to try to make my constituency office work a certain way.

But then I realized my staff were different. And they have their own way of working.

I used to dig into our public email all the time. It’s just a habit. I wanted to know what’s going on. And then they had to block me out of it. They would respectfully tell me to back off. (Laughs). Over time, I started learning that I really need to respect that I’m working with a team. I have a different role now. I cannot do their job anymore, and I also need to respect their expertise in doing their job.

Among my staff, there are a lot of women of color or diverse people with diverse backgrounds. We do see the hierarchical system and the colonial and patriarchal influences on women, especially on women of colour. So, we always make sure we have some standards and use respectful language with each other. Because sometimes, unfortunately, constituency frontline workers are treated very differently or poorly by people.

I want to make sure they always feel safe. I always make sure that they feel respected. But, at the same time, I would always tell them you are representing me. I cannot go to all the places and events. I may be busy working in the Legislature, and not be able to be in the community all the time. You’re representing me. You’re representing our constituency. I have to say all my staff members have done an amazing job and we’re really there to support each other through the work.

EP: If I can just add something to what Katrina said. I think one thing that challenged me, when you’ve done a job that is now someone else’s job, is that it can be really hard to detach yourself from it.

Like Katrina said, everybody has their own abilities and their own talents. But it’s sometimes hard to let go, and it took me a good year to separate myself from it. I was doing a lot of things that I didn’t need to do anymore because now I was the MNA. But I was so used to doing these things because that’s what I did when I ran the office.

At first, there were a lot of things that I kept to myself that I wouldn’t delegate, but I do delegate now. It was a process of just letting go of my expectation that staff would do things the way I had done them. I found that an interesting mental exercise.

CPR: Katrina, you’ve worked in both federal and provincial constituency offices. Do you notice any differences between the two? Obviously, they’re tackling some different issues based on the constitutional division of powers, but is there anything else that you noticed that makes them distinct?

KC: Well, the budget is very different. Federal offices have a much bigger budget, more staff, and more support (depending on the size of caucus) – and every constituency can be different from one another. In a very diverse riding like the one I used to work at, about 90-95 per cent of the casework was immigration-related, whereas provincially it’s mostly housing, seniors support, or healthcare. So that brings in different community members.

This is why we have to work collaboratively between the three levels – or even the four levels because we have school trustees as well – to make sure we can reach out to every community. The casework we do brings in different people every day to different offices.

CPR: In terms of setting up these offices, prior to your own experience in them, did you have any idea of what it would take to set up what is similar to a small business or a small professional office?

EP: I had no experience in conceptualizing what a constituency office was or what it did. I had no experience with hiring people or with human resources. Among my colleagues, when it came to hiring, they would ask the Whip’s Office if they had people to suggest, or they would ask other MNA colleagues if they knew of people to recommend.

Obviously, when you’ve just finished an election, there are certain volunteers or certain members of your staff that you’ll retain. But I don’t think there was really a how-to manual if you will.

KC: Interestingly, this question is kind of connected to the last one. Federally, because of the distance between BC and Ottawa, it was harder to set up the office because of the time difference and lack of local support. Provincially, I found that aspect easier, maybe because we’re closer. In terms of any office support and setting up an office, the Legislature provides a fantastic support and very prompt response. They were always right there.

In terms of previous experience helping me start up a constituency office, it was the reverse for me. I started working as a CA, and in the first few years I worked on so many immigration cases that this type of casework was my expertise – and I decided to take proper training to become a certified immigration consultant. It was actually my CA experience that helped me with my self-employed work.

I would say having worked in a constituency office and then with my self-employed experience, it really helped me set up my own constituency office.

CPR: Elisabeth, you mentioned earlier that you offered to do a presentation for your caucus colleagues about what was involved in managing a constituency office. But have any of them ever asked you for advice or suggestions individually? And if so, could you describe a situation where you were asked to provide some advice?

EP: A lot of them knew that I had joined an office before, so sometimes they would just ask questions, and I would orient them. Other times I would make suggestions to them. I’ll give you an example. Every year we are allowed to give out National Assembly medals to constituents. I try and make a community event out of it and so I have a ceremony at my office.

There have also been many opportunities and many occasions where different colleagues have come up to me and asked me about particular situations. I try to put myself out there as a resource to them.

KC: I would say that I had a similar experience after working at constituency offices for 10 years. A lot of colleagues, and even other colleagues’ staff members, would come to me and share about issues that would come up. Even when I was in cabinet, a lot of the Ministers’ staff members would come to me to talk about the experience of working as a staff and the challenges that surface. So, we tend to connect and share.

I think that support is important for a lot of staff. They know that they’re not alone when it comes to very challenging and stressful situations.

CPR: Is there anything that we might have missed that you want to touch upon before we wrap things up?

EP: I want to emphasize the mental exercise of going from being behind the scenes to being in front of the scene. I think I still work on it a little bit every day, especially when you’ve been in a constituency office for a long time.

KC: I definitely hope that there is a way to create some kind of a manual for how to set up and run a constituency office. And I do hope that there are more opportunities to collaborate with other caucuses.

I understand the challenges. There’s partisan politics, right? And some MLAs have staff who are unionized while some are not. Then there’s a lot of complexity. The constituency staff and the ministerial staff all have separate training and separate responsibilities.

So, I understand that it may be challenging; but I think there are a lot of shared experiences and shared challenges that staff members face when it comes to a very high-pressure organization. And there are a lot of inequities within this organization. Hopefully, down the road, there will be more opportunities for us to collaborate and get together to support each other.

EP: If I can add one last thing. I was saying that when I left the constituency office, I put together a guide for the person who replaced me. I think – whether it’s myself or Katrina, or others – we have historical knowledge; and parties, in general, don’t take advantage of that knowledge when we leave. There’s so much knowledge that is not captured that could be so useful and so helpful. When a person leaves, a lot of that historic knowledge leaves with them. It takes people a long time to rebuild that.

I think that parties should recognize this and do a better job of trying to put pen to paper when it comes to the experience that people have in constituency offices, especially when they’ve been there for a while.