Services: Preparing for Parliamentary Committees

Appearing before committees of the House of Commons or the Senate can be daunting, even intimidating for some public servants – especially if they’ve never done it before.

They often find themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to answer for controversial decisions or initiatives being probed by MPs and Senators.

Burke Cader Media Strategies has worked with officials from dozens of federal departments and agencies to ‘prep’ them for committee. Our goal is to strip the fear from committee appearances and replace that with a sense of comfort and confidence.

These ‘prep’ sessions typically run for approximately two hours and involve one to three officials. The session begins with a brief presentation on what’s expected of senior officials at committee, the minefields to be aware of, and techniques for effective messaging.

The rest of the session is devoted to videotaped simulations of an actual committee hearing, including the delivery of an opening statement. Participants then face several rounds of questions and answers, using video recording and playback.