Son of Essequibian and former Chief Medical Officer of Guyana heads to Queen’s Park

John Gobin, an eighth grader of Churchill Heights Public School, Scarborough, has been selected to serve as a Legislative Page at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in Toronto. During his term of duty, Gobin will serve as a messenger on the floor of the Legislative Chamber, meet key parliamentary figures and learn about Ontario’s parliamentary system of government. His term of duty is scheduled to last from March 18 to March 28, 2013 depending on the parliamentary session.
As a Legislative Page, he earned his spot in the program by submitting an application that included a written essay outlining his achievements, involvements and suitability for the program. He is expected to study and learn the faces, names, ridings, portfolios of ministers and the Chamber seating locations of the 107 MPPs before arriving at Queen’s Park for his first day. The young man is also required to learn how to navigate through the tunnel to get safely to the Whitney Block and back to the Legislative Chamber.
Legislative Pages selected from across the province come together at Queen’s Park where they develop long lasting friendships and meet fellow students with similar interests as they participate in this unique educational program.
During a typical day in the program, Pages arrive at Queen’s Park at approximately 8:00 a.m., dressed in their uniforms and then prepare the Legislative Chamber for the morning’s debates. As the day progresses, Pages are involved in a number of activities including: delivering messages and water for the MPPs and Cabinet Ministers in the Chamber, taking classes in mathematics and the legislative process.  They also meet with key legislative players such as the party leaders and the Speaker of the House.
Gobin will learn leadership skills during his term of duty as he will take on the role of Page Captain for a day after which he will present a verbal report at the next morning’s briefing.  Along with the Sergeant-at-Arms -and other pages he will lead the procession into the Legislative Chamber.
Described as a ‘bookworm’, Gobin is currently enrolled in the Gifted Program at his school and enjoys academics, sports, music and drama.  He avidly participates in extracurricular activities; when he is not playing cricket or Xbox, he is watching hockey, or competing in the American Computer Science League and GAUSS math contests, in which he has earned much success.
He adds some tranquility to his life by playing the trombone at his school and the Toronto District School Board All City Band.  He likes to travel and has visited Guyana on many occasions where he enjoys playing cricket on the lush sandy beaches of Johanna Cecilia in Essequibo, an area from which his grandmother, Lynette, hails.
He is said to be very much like his father Dr Winston Gobin and likes to help others. A few years ago, he visited the St. Gabriel’s Nursery School in Georgetown and assisted in the presentation of certificates to the Kindergarten graduating students.
He is also the nephew of renowned Guyanese Dr Neville Gobin.
The Legislative Page Program is open to students in grades 7 and 8 who have an interest in current affairs, have an academic average of 80% or higher and get along well with their peers and adults. Applications for the Legislative Page Program are accepted for two deadlines each year: November 15 and June 15.Grade 7 students are eligible for both of these deadlines. Grade 8 students may apply for the November 15 deadline only.