Members' assistance programs: working in a job like no other.

AuthorJacobson, Jackie

It's sometimes easy to forget that politicians are people too and must deal with many types of personal issues while serving the public in a job with particular stresses on them and their families. Members' assistance programs offer support to parliamentarians and their families and it would be a good practise for legislatures to routinely review them to ensure they are effective.

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Parliamentarians don't often speak about the personal costs that a political life can have, or what we can or should do about it. In all our legislatures, Members devote a lot of time and energy to our jobs as we desire to make positive changes and are passionate to make the world a better place for our people and their children and grandchildren.

What the public, the media, and even we, ourselves, sometimes forget is that we're not just politicians we're people too. Like any human beings we don't just bring our drive and commitment to work. We also bring our personal lives. And while this can include a lot of happiness and support from our families and friends, it can also include experiences that make it hard for us to stay healthy and focus on our work.

There are plenty of experiences and issues that can weigh on us as we do the work our constituents have entrusted us to do. Marital problems, grief, stress, anger, depression, addictions, and trauma from residential schools or other kinds of abuse are things we as politicians and human beings can experience in our day to day lives. And whether those things affect us directly or our family members, we can't just put them aside when we come to our jobs.

As Speaker of the North West Territories' Assembly, I feel like I have some responsibility to look out for the well-being of Members and it really concerns me when I hear some of the things Members are going through in their personal lives. I see the effects on them, on their work, and on the work of the Assembly as a whole.

Furthermore, a lot of people who could be good leaders are discouraged from running to become an MLA because they see the immense personal costs involved in holding the position. There is stress from long hours and high expectations of us. Those of us who represent small communities never get away from it. It's 24/7. You can't go to the grocery store or the post office or the gas station without someone wanting to talk to you about something, and usually they're not happy. People aren't shy to come knocking on our doors or call us at home.

Public life, and all the criticism that goes with that is also tough. As politicians, we probably all knew what we were signing up for as part of the job, but that's not necessarily the case for our families. The worst is when it affects...

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