A guest invite from my MLA turned a free afternoon in Victoria into one of the best history lessons I've had this year.
My MLA, Dana Lajeunesse, invited me to the BC Parliament Buildings last week as his guest, and what started as an introduction for the tourism work I’ve done with the Sooke Region Tourism Association and VIBL turned into one of the most interesting free afternoons I’ve spent in Victoria with my daughter. Question Period in the morning, a VIP tour after, and a walk through Old Town to finish.
Anyone can sit in on Question Period at the BC Legislature, but being signed in as a guest of your MLA gets you an extra perk. Dana officially introduced us from the floor as his guests, which felt like a small thing and a big thing at the same time. I spent the last two years as president of the Sooke Region Tourism Association and shared information with hundreds of thousands of people interested in Vancouver Island, all through this site and the VIBL Facebook page, so the invitation was a nice nod that the work was being noticed.
No phones, no cameras, no electronics of any kind in the chamber. That part felt strange. I kept reaching for my pocket out of habit. Once Question Period started, I understood why the clips show up on TV. In real life, it’s even better. Grown men and women pointing fingers across the floor, fists coming down on desks, voices rising whenever their side lands a point. I came in expecting political theatre and got it.
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Our guide for the VIP tour afterwards was Nicholas, and he didn’t miss a name, a date, or a story the whole way through.
He started with the First Nations land use before the building was ever drawn up, then walked us through the story of BC’s first coat of arms. The original design had the sun sitting above the Union Jack, which became a problem.
Britain’s empire was the one the sun never set on, so the queen had the design changed. The old version still lives in a stained glass window in the Hall of Honour. You can walk right up to it.
The architect’s story is one I have repeated a few times now after learning it. Francis Rattenbury was 25 years old, British, and had basically no real experience when he won the competition to design the Parliament Buildings. He went on to design the Empress Hotel and other landmarks across Victoria and BC. Then his life unravelled in ways that ended with his murder back in England. The whole arc was told to us in front of the library fireplace, acted out by Nicholas.
We saw spots most visitors don’t get into. The carvings in the Legislative Library are worth the tour on their own, with endless hallways of books dating back to the birth of BC. We rode the oldest elevator in Victoria. We walked by the single jail cell and the original vault tucked into the lower levels of the building.
When we were done, we explored the Parliament grounds and gardens, then headed into Old Town and found a restaurant to close out the afternoon. It’s a free, educational way to spend a half day in Victoria, and the building is open to self-guided tours and anyone who wants to sit in the gallery on a sitting day. If you want the VIP version, your MLA’s office is the way in.
I wasn’t sure how interested my daughter, Rayne, was in this tour. She didn’t look thrilled in the moment, but on the walk out, she told me she really enjoyed it. That was enough for me.
