Fletcher hosts 70th “Fletcher Forum”

October 24, 2009

WINNIPEG, Manitoba – The Honourable Steven Fletcher, Member of Parliament for Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia, today hosted the 70th Fletcher Forum town hall meeting with his constituents.

“When I was first elected I made a commitment to represent my constituents’ views to Ottawa, not the other way around,” said Fletcher. “The 70 Fletcher Forums I have hosted since 2004 have been an important part of making sure I hold true to that commitment. The frequent open and frank discussions the Fletcher Forums have allowed me to have with my constituents are invaluable and I believe go to the core of what it means to be a Member of Parliament.”

Since 2004, more than two thousand constituents have attended one of the 70 Fletcher Forums town hall meetings. These informal meetings offer constituents the chance to gather and discuss directly with their Member of Parliament the issues that are important to them.

Invitations to attend the 70th Fletcher Forum were distributed to every household in Charleswood – St. James – Assiniboia. The invitation provided an opportunity for constituents to respond and identify the issues they wanted to talk about at the Forum.

The 70th Fletcher Forum is split into two parts. The first part uses the Turning Point Group Response System to poll audience members on questions derived from their feedback and important issues of the day. Attendees use small hand held response devices to anonymously enter a response. Once all responses have been entered the aggregate results are instantly displayed for all attendees to inform further discussion.

The second part of the forum allows audience members an opportunity to name an issue they would like the group to discuss. Audience members have the option to lend their support to an issue already raised or identify a new issue for discussion. The group discussion begins with the issue receiving the greatest support from attendees.