In the month of October 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked me if I would accept the position of National Caucus Chair for the Government of Canada.  I cannot express to you how honoured I felt to have this position offered to me.
 
Previous to the phone call from the Prime Minister, I had discussed with my wife on many occasions, my hope of becoming the Caucus Chair.  One of the many reasons I wanted this position is that it allows me to deal daily with each and every member of government, from Members of Parliament to Ministers to Senators to House officers up to and including the Prime Minister.
 
My responsibility is to ensure that there is communication between all of the above, so, that everyone is aware of the governments’ agenda and the progress being made on it. The National Caucus Chair is a central point that all members of government can utilize to get their message out to their colleagues.  As you can imagine, with close to 200 Caucus members, it can be a huge challenge to ensure everyone is kept up to speed on the very fast moving machinations of government. Thanks to my dedicated staff who are on call 24 hours, seven days per week, we have been successful to date in ensuring everyone is kept informed.
 
Another huge responsibility of the National Caucus Chair is to plan and chair the National Caucus meeting that takes place every Wednesday morning when Parliament is in session.  Planning the agenda for each caucus meeting usually takes place on Monday afternoon.  Attendance at the planning meeting includes the Prime Minister, the Government House
Leader, the Government Whip, the Deputy Whip, and a few senior staff members.
 
The agenda is normally very full and my job as Chair is to ensure all items on the agenda are dealt with in a two and a half hour meeting.  Needless to say, I have to run a very disciplined meeting with strict time allocations.  I must say, this is the most challenging, but most rewarding part of the job.  I feel very humbled to have the privilege of presiding over a meeting that
takes care of the Government of Canada’s business each week.
 
What an honour!
 
Guy Lauzon
Member of Parliament
Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry