Bricks and Mortar Not Required: Pop Up and Mobile Constituency Offices
Ask not when you can come to a parliamentarian’s constituency office but when a parliamentarian’s constituency office can come (closer) to you. In recent years, many parliamentarians have expanded their community outreach beyond attendance at specific events. By launching mobile or pop up constituency offices, these parliamentarians are bringing the services offered in their bricks and mortar offices to different areas within their ridings. In some cases, serving populations located a significant distance away from their permanent office(s) is a primary motivator. In other cases, these offices are set up in popular, high-traffic locations or specific neighbourhoods. Drawing on research conducted by the House of Commons’ Table Research Branch, the Canadian Parliamentary Review reached out to MPs who have recently advertised mobile/pop up offices to ask them about why they started this practice and how they run these events.
Q&A with MP Carol Hughes, MP Jenny Kwan, and MP Philip Lawrence
Carol Hughes has served as MP for Algoma—Manitoulin— Kapuskasing since 2008. Jenny Kwan has served as MP for Vancouver East since 2015. Philip Lawrence has served as MP for Northumberland—Peterborough South since 2019.
Carol Hughes (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing)
Q: How did you come up with the idea to run a mobile/pop up constituency office?
A: Hosting regular constituency clinics in various communities across my riding provides an opportunity for constituents to access services closer to their hometown. I believe that the previous Member of Parliament also hosted similar constituency clinics, but am uncertain how often and if they were as numerous as those that I have been hosting since I was first elected in 2008.
Q: Was this the first and only time you have attempted this type of event? Do you have any plans for future events?
A: I have been scheduling travelling constituency clinics since being elected in 2008. I have two offices, one in Elliot Lake – whereby the staff from this office generally will cover off the clinics along the Hwy 17 corridor between Nairn Centre and Thessalon, including Manitoulin Island, given that these clinics, regular schedule often falls while parliament is in session. I, on the other hand, cover those who are further North on Hwy 17 from Bruce Mines to Pic Mobert First Nation and Hornepayne and along Hwy 101 from Foleyet. My staff in Kapuskasing will travel along the Hwy 11 corridor on a by-appointment basis.
It should be noted that from time to time we have also hosted pop up clinics in a few malls or other venues to assist with passports, information sharing, and raise awareness of services offered. At other times pop up clinics have been focussed strictly to assist with a particular service, i.e., passports or status card applications (especially when there are evacuees from Indigenous communities) or focus on retirement/ pension matters at a seniors fair, etc. In these instances, it depends on what the venue is, as from time to time it is agencies that ask us to participate in some of their fairs.
Q: How was this event different from a regular public appearance in your constituency?
It is an opportunity for constituents to be able to attend in person to obtain assistance with federally regulated programs and to air their concerns on other matters. It is about being able to be face to face with either me as the MP or my staff to get hands-on help.
We provide the same level of service at these clinics as one would expect to receive if they were to visit my office.
Otherwise, my other regular public appearances are attending functions and events in support of individual communities, marking milestones, meeting with stakeholders, etc.
Q: How many (if any) staff members attended this event with you?
A: The clinics are staffed by either myself or one of my employees. We do not do these jointly as my offices in the larger centres (Elliot Lake & Kapuskasing) need to remain open. However, we have participated in seniors’ fairs and service expos for evacuees for example where two staff, or myself and one staff will be in attendance.
Q: What type of reaction did this event receive from the people who attended, or from your constituents at large?
As mentioned, this is not a unique event as I generally put out a calendar with a variety of dates for the year as to when individuals can expect my staff or me to be in their community. Although we have a rotating schedule, my staff have weeks specifically assigned to them so they generally have their own coverage area rotation, as do I. Constituents appreciate that my office is accessible and that they can be served in person.
Q: Would you recommend this type of event to other parliamentarians? Why or why not?
A: Having a regular schedule is the best way to provide services to constituents in outlying communities. You also have to remember in rural areas like mine, daily public transportation between communities is non-existent and so this is about providing them with as equal access to services as they would if there was an MP office in their community.
Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East)
Q: How did you come up with the idea to run a mobile/pop up constituency office?
A: I spend a lot of time in Ottawa while Parliament is sitting, so it is crucial not to lose touch with people in the community. In addition to attending community events, our team thought about how to reach different areas in the Vancouver East riding and be available to meet with constituents. We also considered how busy venues, like the community centres and neighborhood houses in the riding, as well as the very popular farmers’ markets, would be convenient for people. It is a densely populated urban riding, but it is still important to be available to people in the places they live their day-to-day lives.
Q: Was this the first and only time you have attempted this type of event? Do you have any plans for future events?
A: My team has been organizing mobile offices since I was elected to Parliament in 2015, and we will continue to do so. The challenge is always finding a time that will also make sense for people looking to take a minute to speak with their elected representative.
Q: How was this event different from a regular public appearance in your constituency?
A: In the mobile office, I would be stationed in a set location with a table and chair to meet with constituents. No appointment is required; people can just drop by or walk by to talk about any topic or issue.
Q: How many (if any) staff members attended this event with you?
A: Typically, I would be accompanied by one staff member at the mobile office.
Q: What type of reaction did this event receive from the people who attended, or from your constituents at large?
A: The reaction has been great, and the feedback is that people in the community always seek more opportunities to meet, greet, and talk to their elected representatives. This is a good opportunity for MPs to hear what’s on people’s minds, comments on public issues, and comments on our work in Parliament. It’s also important to have that two-way conversation, even if briefly.
Q: Would you recommend this type of event to other parliamentarians? Why or why not?
A: Certainly, I would recommend it to other parliamentarians.
Philip Lawrence (Northumberland—Peterborough South)
Q: How did you come up with the idea to run a mobile/pop up constituency office?
A: This was an idea my staff and I thought of because of the geographic size of our riding. It takes an hour to drive from the eastern to western boundaries and the same amount of time to drive from the shoreline of Lake Ontario to the northern end of my riding.
Even with my office located roughly in the center of the riding, residents will have to do at least an hour’s worth of driving if they are on the outer edge of the riding. The mobile clinics make our services more convenient for my constituents and they help us make connections in areas where my staff don’t work full- time.
Q: Was this the first and only time you have attempted this type of event? Do you have any plans for future events?
A: No, in fact, I have been running mobile clinics for a couple of years now. After the pandemic ended, it was a great way to reconnect with my constituents face-to-face. I plan to continue holding several clinics in the Spring and Fall of each year.
Q: How was this event different from a regular public appearance in your constituency?
A: In most regular appearances I am asked to discuss more general issues – the debt, the carbon tax, etc. In this clinic, my staffers focused on addressing specific individual issues.
Q: How many (if any) staff members attended this event with you?
A: Each clinic typically has at least two staff members present due to the demand we often face for these services. This will leave another staff member available to keep my regular constituency office open.
Q: What type of reaction did this event receive from the people who attended, or from your constituents at large?
A: We have had primarily positive reactions from our constituents. Elderly constituents, in particular, appreciate not having to drive as far to get help with things like passports and pensions.
Q: Would you recommend this type of event to other parliamentarians? Why or why not?
A: I certainly would recommend this idea depending on the riding. For a riding that is as large as mine, it is very helpful to be able to move the services I offer in my constituency office to suit the various areas in my riding.