For Release - March 5, 2009
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OTTAWA- March 5, 2009 – Member of Parliament Ed Holder
is pleased to provide the following article for use in your
publication without charge.

Non-Partisan Intern Finds A Good
Match
With Rookie Member Of Parliament
It’s often been said that
good help is hard to find. Lately, though, Member of
Parliament Ed Holder, has had some good help find him, in the form
of Parliamentary Intern, Alexander Sculthorpe.
The Parliamentary Internship
Programme, established in 1969, is non-partisan and annually
provides ten young Canadians the opportunity to work on Parliament
Hill in Ottawa, split between working 5 months with a Government MP
and 5 months with an MP from an Opposition party.
In an interesting twist, it
is the interns who, at the beginning of each year, conduct
interviews with interested MPs to decide with whom they want to
work. This year, Mr. Holder was one of only ten Members to be
selected by an intern for the first five-month rotation, as well as
the only new MP to be selected. Parliamentary Intern Alexander
Sculthorpe, of Port Hope, Ontario, has been working with Mr. Holder
since mid-December.
Mr. Sculthorpe has performed
a wide range of tasks including speech writing, conducting research,
and helping Mr. Holder in his role as a member of the International
Trade Committee. “It has been a fascinating year
to be a parliamentary intern with all that has gone on in
Parliament” said Mr. Sculthorpe, “and this has been an incredible
learning experience for me. Mr. Holder is always going out of
his way to make me feel welcome, provide opportunities, and to
meaningfully include me in his work.”
Mr. Sculthorpe got a chance
to visit the riding of London-West with Mr. Holder at the beginning
of February. He attended Mr. Holder’s ‘Skate for Kids’ event
on Family Day, and assisted him in a series of meetings with
constituents and local community groups. “Visiting the riding
was definitely a highlight for me. Mr. Holder`s passion for
London is contagious” said Mr. Sculthorpe.
“Having Alexander has been a
huge benefit for both of us. He is so exceptionally bright and
gives me great optimism about our future leaders. I only wish
we could work together longer. He`s definitely set high
expectations for future interns” said MP Ed Holder.
All Canadian citizens under
35 with a university degree are eligible to apply to the
Parliamentary Internship Programme. More information is
available at www.pip-psp.org.
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