How to meet with your MP: using your voice for justice

CPJ’s Envisioning Canada Without Poverty campaign has ended. We thank CPJ members and supporters for contacting their MPs and sharing the important message that poverty must be addressed. Thanks to you, the campaign was a success. For new opportunities to get involved in the fight against poverty, check out CPJ’s new campaign: Dignity for All.

Meeting your Member of Parliament is one of the best ways to voice your concerns and engage your elected representative on important issues. Speaking as a constituent to your local MP is an effective and simple way to express your opinions and ask for commitments from your representative. A direct meeting with MPs allows them to connect a face with your concern and demonstrates your willingness to act on it.

Steps to take:

1. Call your MP

• Call the MP’s local constituency office and request a meeting with your MP. Ask if you can have 30 minutes of his or her time to discuss the issues. You might need to send a brief email outlining your concerns.
• Suggest days that you would be available for a meeting and ask for their availability. Remember that when the House of Commons is meeting, your MP is away in Ottawa.
• Be insistent on getting a meeting and call back to reschedule if they are busy.
• Keep a friendly tone.

2. Prepare for the meeting

• Get to know your MP by looking at his or her website. Find out if the MP has ever spoken publicly about poverty.
• Be informed on the issues and develop a list of possible questions to ask. Think of proposals for specific action that you can ask the representative to commit to. Use CPJ’s resources to help.
• Think about the message and goals of the meeting.
• If possible, invite 2-4 other to join you in meeting with the MP. The moral support and combined expertise of a group can make for a good meeting. Choose a group spokesperson who can direct the meeting.

3. At the meeting

• Focus on the main points of the issues and the request for commitment to working towards a federal poverty reduction strategy announced in Budget 2009. Present your concern in a clear and concise way, stating precisely what action you would like to see the MP take. Ask your MP what they and their party can do to address the issues and ask them to speak up in Parliament or at their party caucus meetings about a poverty reduction strategy.
• Keep a positive tone by actively listening and engaging in dialogue and showing interest in their point of view.
• Avoid interrupting the MP until he or she is finished, then respond with a probing question or a counter argument.
• Check and record what the MP has agreed to do before leaving the meeting.
• Thank him or her for the time and opportunity to meet. If possible, ask for a picture with your MP and leave on good terms.

4. Follow up

• Write a letter thanking the MP for the meeting, reiterating agreed outcomes. Ask for an update on the action taken as a result of your meeting. Monitor his or her performance in Parliament with respect to your concern and comment accordingly.

5. Let CPJ know what you’re hearing

• Send us an email or give us a call to let us know how your meeting went.
• Send us your picture with your MP. We’ll put it in our photo gallery.