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Don Boudria goes “back to the kitchen”
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
Don Boudria always smiles, it seems, when he talks about the unlikely and unpromising beginning of his career on The Hill. Now a retired and respected politician, Boudria did not get his start as either one of the parliamentary pages or even as an assistant to a backbencher MP. His first job onThe Hill was as a busboy in the Parliament Hill cafeteria. “I was a high school dropout,” Boudria said smiling, during an interview at the Embrun Tim Horton’s. “I later went back to school and got a university degree.” In late October 1966, a 17-year old Don Boudria showed up for an interview for a busboy job at the Parliament Hill restaurant. His aunt Alice worked in the restaurant and she called in a favour with the maître d’ for the interview, then she called her nephew. Not to scold him for dropping out of high school but to tell him to show up for the interview. “If you’re going to work anywhere, you’re going to work on Parliament Hill,” she told me, chuckled Boudria. “If you work hard, maybe you can work your way up,” she added. “Boy, that was an understatement.” Boudria didn’t get the restaurant busboy position like his aunt wanted. That would havemeant a chance at some nice tips from the senior staff or ministers who dined there. Instead, he got assigned to the cafeteria. Same hours andmore-or-less the same pay. Just not much chance of any tips. Cashing in on the growing tourism potential for Prescott-Russell of recreational and adventure cycling was the goal of twomid-October workshops. The United Counties of Prescott- Russell Recreation Trail Inc. (PRRT) and Tourisme Prescott-Russell Tourism (TPRT) co-hosted workshops for local businesses and interested individuals, Oct. 18 and 19 in St-Albert and Alfred, on the theme of cycle tourism. The Ontario By Bike Network (OBBN) provided guest speakers for the workshops, to explain both the opportunities and benefits to the local tourism sector in targeting the adventure and eco cycling trends in tourism. Presenters also provided details on business certification with the OBBN. “Cycling has been a key tourismattractor for the region over the past few years now,” stated Martin Lacelle, TPRT executive director. “With this new partnership with Ontario By Bike Network, we can move forward in promoting Prescott-Russell as a cycling destination not to be missed.” Workshop speakers explained how recreational cycling is growing as part of the typical vacation trip plan. Avid cyclists may plan their entire holiday around a long-distance cycling tour, while other vacationers may limit the cycling part of their vacation plan to a day or afternoon outing, among other activities.
Il y a une cinquantaine d’années, Don Boudria, qui avait abandonné ses études secondaires, a obtenu son premier emploi à temps plein en tant qu’aide-serveur à la cafétéria du Parlement. Devenu l’une des éminences grises du Parti libéral après une vingtaine d’années en tant que député, l’ancien ministre dans le cabinet Chrétien est retourné à son ancien lieu de travail pour souligner dignement cet anniversaire avec famille et amis.
School trustees study trends Results of an IPSOS-Reid culture survey prompted a report to the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) on trends in student choices for their course and study plans.Valerie Allen, schools’ superintendent, and Student Success Principal Frank Hummell outlined to district trustees, during a recent session, how the UCDSB is providing more course options for students in its curriculum programming.The IPSOS-Reid survey noted increased enrolment in day-school e-Learning for some subjects and also for the board’s after-school continuing education, summer school co-op education, and the Specialist High Skills Major programs, which help direct students who have specific career goal in mind.The report fromAllen and Hummell included recommendations for following up on the survey results to further improve course offerings. Those recommendations include listening to student feedback on course selection, creating a district-wide secondary timetable, more professional development support for teachers of online courses, and a new Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (ICE) component for the Specialist High Skills Major program. – Gregg Chamberlain “Some day I’ll be one of them, I would say, and I’d point at the MPs,” Boudria recalled. “They (cafeteria staff) would smile or maybe just shrug. But it says something about this great country we live in, that you can have It was while he was bussing tables that Boudria started to think he could aspire to greater things. He admits his fellow cafeteria workers were less than optimistic about the chances of his dreams coming true.
those kind of dreams and a hope to achieve them. To this day I am still the only House of Commons employee ever to be elected to office.” “I was a high school dropout,” Boudria said smiling, during an interview at the Embrun Tim Horton’s. “I later went back to school and got a university degree.” Fifty years later, including about two decades as MP for Glengarry-Prescott- Russell and a former minister in the Chrétien Liberal cabinet, Boudria is a respected ex- politician, with his political and personal memoirs published, and focused now on doing a bit of consulting work and enjoying his retirement. He went back to Parliament Hill on Oct. 24, the anniversary of his busboy job interview, for a special anniversary cocktail gathering with family and friends and also Geoff Regan, current Speaker of the House of Commons, followed by supper in the Parliament Hill Restaurant. If he could go back in time just long enough for a quick visit the day before his younger self began working on The Hill, Boudria knows what advice he would give himself then. “I’ve given this advice already to my children and grandchildren,” he added. “I don’t regret the career path that I had. But I wouldn’t want anyone to have to do it the way I did it. In other words: Stay in school! Do not defy the odds that way. It worked for me, but that was thanks to lots of luck.”
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca Cashing in on tourism in the region Businesses, whether tourismoperators or those in the food-and-beverage or other service sectors, must understand “the unique needs and desires of cyclists” to attract them as clients. OBBN speakers highlightedOntario’s growing cycle tourism sector, both at the local and regional levels, the existing infrastructure for that sector, including trails and support services, and the impact that cycle tourism has on the economy.
In 2014, cyclists average three overnight trips in Ontario. Statistical survey review indicates 38 per cent of cyclists during their trips spent more than $100 on accommodations, 36 per cent spent more than $50 on food and drink, and that 95 per cent spent at least a quarter of their holiday budget on various tourist-related activities during each day of their trip.The most popular activities for cyclists included visiting cultural sites and museums, shopping, wine-tasting, and dining out. «We are excited to bring together the local business community, residents and tourism operators to share information about this growing market,” stated Louisa Mursell, transportation options executive director, “and further explore opportunities for both existing and new businesses that will help continue to place Prescott- Russell on the map for cycle tourism. There is significant potential to attract a larger number of cyclists fromboth Ottawa and eastern Ontario, as well as the much coveted cycling market in Quebec.”
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