It’s called a New Year’s Levee. That’s
pronounced “lev-e” not “lee-vee.” It’s a tradition carried out by a number of officials
and organizations in modern times, from the Governor-General to the Armed
Forces. But it originated in the court of French King Louis XIV, where in the Levée
du Soleil, or the Rising of the Sun, was the practice of the “Sun King”
receiving his subjects in his bedchamber after just waking up. Louis’ idea
caught on with monarchs across Europe in the 18th century.
But in 2009 Guelph, a levee is
a chance for MPP Liz Sandals to meet with her constituency, and they with her.
This year, Sandals was joined by newly minted MP Frank Valeriote. Jenny
Waterson, a staffer with Sandals’ office, told me that this was her boss’
fourth New Year’s Levee, and that they decided to offer Valeriote the chance to
share the occasion given the fact that his office is still establishing itself
after the MP’s victory last October. Waterson said that joint levees aren’t
usually the norm, but in this case it was the logical thing to do.
The setting was the Italian-Canadian Club
on Ferguson Street in the East End. The parking lots off Ferguson were full and the line into the main banquet was long. Who comes
out to the levee? All kinds from the looks of it: seniors, young families,
individuals; all from numerous multicultural backgrounds too. The attire was
business casual, so lots of suits and ties, or failing that, a tasteful turtle
neck. I took my place in line, and thought of something to say to both Sandals
and Valeriote, and it had better be good.
Sometimes the line moved quickly, and other
times it seemed to grind to halt. Snaking around the foyer of the Italian-Canadian
Club, I noticed why there was a delay as I got closer to entering the Hall –
the place was packed. Well, it wasn’t a standing room only situation, but as I
got closer, I noticed that staff were opening up the patrician in the centre of
the hall so that more tables were available for people to take a seat and enjoy
the coffee and snackables offered, once pleasantries were exchanged with the
politicians.
Waterson told me that the turnout for this
year’s levee was good, and that the number of people that come out to it seems
to increase with every year. I recognized a few people there. I caught up with
Liberal blogger David Graham and talked about missing the never-ending
by-election. I talked with Kyle Mitchell, whom I knew from my days at The Ontarion. He’s a former Valeriote
volunteer and current Valeriote legislative assistant. He went to Ottawa
expecting to get down to work, only to find himself back in Guelph once
parliament was prorogued following November’s economic update. “Hopefully,
it’ll be more predictable this time, and not as crazy,” he said about heading
back for the budget at the end of the month.
Around this time, my position in line had
finally made it into the banquet hall, and Sandals and Valeriote were just
metres ahead now. Both politicians were in good spirits, enthusiastically
shaking hands with well wishers and hugging old friends. I got Valeriote first,
who took my hand warmly and wished me a happy New Year and gave me his thanks
for coming out. I asked him if being a parliamentarian is everything he thought
it’d be. Without stopping to think Valeriote said it’s not “about what you hope
for, but about what you expect, and it’s certainly beyond my expectations.”
Clearly, the House being put on hold and
the internal turbulence of his own party hasn’t affected the Valeriote
enthusiasm for governance he showed on the campaign trail. Sandals, for her
part, was just as welcoming and her experience at being on the receiving line
was clearly evident as she shook hands and welcomed each person in turn. And
then that, as they say, was that. Coffee and cookies were being served at the
back of the room. Some people enjoyed them in groups and stuck around to
converse, while others went home to enjoy their Sunday. Meanwhile, outside the
banquet hall, they were still lining up.
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