1. Poster Print Size: This poster template is 36” high by 36” wide. It can be used to print any poster with a 1:1 aspect ratio. Placeholders: The various elements included in this poster are ones we often see in medical, research, and scientific posters. Feel free to edit, move, add, and delete items, or change the layout to suit your needs. Always check with your conference organizer for specific requirements. Image Quality: You can place digital photos or logo art in your poster file by selecting the Insert, Picture command, or by using standard copy & paste. For best results, all graphic elements should be at least 150-200 pixels per inch in their final printed size. For instance, a 1600 x 1200 pixel photo will usually look fine up to 8“- 10” wide on your printed poster. To preview the print quality of images, select a magnification of 100% when previewing your poster. This will give you a good idea of what it will look like in print. If you are laying out a large poster and using half-scale dimensions, be sure to preview your graphics at 200% to see them at their final printed size. Please note that graphics from websites (such as the logo on your hospital's or university's home page) will only be 72dpi and not suitable for printing. [This sidebar area does not print.] Change Color Theme: This template is designed to use the built-in color themes in the newer versions of PowerPoint. To change the color theme, select the Design tab, then select the Colors drop-down list. The default color theme for this template is “Office”, so you can always return to that after trying some of the alternatives. Printing Your Poster: Once your poster file is ready, visit www.genigraphics.com to order a high-quality, affordable poster print. Every order receives a free design review and we can deliver as fast as next business day within the US and Canada. Genigraphics® has been producing output from PowerPoint® longer than anyone in the industry; dating back to when we helped Microsoft® design the PowerPoint® software. US and Canada: 1-800-790-4001 Email: info@genigraphics.com [This sidebar area does not print.] Strong Shadows: What makes an effective opposition critic? Eric Zinn, Ontario Legislature Internship Programme 2015-16 In their mission of keeping the government accountable to public, the opposition has come to rely on its members’ roles as critics of portfolios. Today in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, every ministerial portfolio has at least one opposition critic charged with shadowing that particular ministry or a significant policy of that ministry. While opposition critics make their positions well known through their actions in Question Period and through interaction with the media during press scrums, there is a relative lack of academic literature investigating the role in the context of Ontario or Canada at-large. In order to address this gap, Strong Shadows analyses the role of opposition critics in the Assembly, identifying and examining which qualities make an opposition critic effective in their role. Building on a review of current academic literature regarding the role of members of Westminster parliaments, the article is centered on interviews from a stratified, non-random sample of current and former members of provincial parliament. With an examination of the attributes, skills, and qualities of critics through these interviews, a critic’s effectiveness can be understood as demonstrating a strong knowledge of their portfolio and presenting themselves as a credible, reliable voice for their party, advancing their party’s objective as critic and ultimately being able to hold the government to account. Abstract Introduction Strong Shadows combines a brief literature review to provide a background of the work of members of parliament in the Westminster system with interview results from current and former members of provincial parliament along with other actors connected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The interview subjects were selected through a stratified non-random sample of current and former members of provincial parliament (MPP) of Ontario. The sample size of MPPs was set at 30, 10 current government MPPs, 10 opposition MPPs, and 10 retired MPPs of varying experience and background. Additional selection factors included MPPs who had served or are currently serving as government ministers, parliamentary assistants, critics, or who had never served as critics themselves. Four broad questions were asked in each interview with participants providing a variety of answers as well as providing a consensus on certain issues: 1.What would you characterise as effectiveness overall? 2.What makes a critic effective in their role during Question Period, committee work and commenting on bills? 3.Outside the house and committees, what makes a critic effective/successful in their role? – media relations, relationship with minister and stakeholders etc. 4.How important is background knowledge and familiarity with the critic portfolio to success? What do you do when you are handed an unfamiliar critic portfolio? Comments by current and former MPPs quoted in the paper were not attributed directly to those members in accordance with confidentiality procedures. Methods and Materials What would you characterise as effectiveness overall? Effectiveness can be measured in many different ways: changing government policy, presenting credible policy alternatives, reducing government support, accomplishing policy goals, collaboration, even assisting the minister in their own caucus to pass a policy measure favourable to the critic. Overall, the critic must be able to hold the government to account as their paramount objective. What makes a critic effective in their role during Question Period, committee work and commenting on bills?  General consensus amongst participants regarding the importance of prior preparation of questions and research. o Question techniques and strategies discussed by many participants. o Importance of linking questions to a broad theme/maintaining party messaging.  Committees: participants heavily emphasised the importance of reading bills before committee and calling good witnesses into committee in order to advance their viewpoint.  Conflicting perspectives regarding question period: some claim that it is unimportant to the effective work of the critic, others find it useful for impacting policy or publicity. Outside the house and committees, what makes a critic effective/successful in their role? – media relations, relationship with minister and stakeholders etc.  Uniform consensus on the presentation of the critic as a reliable/credible source of information to media.  Relationship with corresponding minister: most participants emphasised the value of a good relationship tempered with the reality of the adversarial system that defines a Westminster-style parliament.  Relationship with the parliamentary assistant: some participants attributed value to this and other did not.  Stakeholder relations considered critical to effective performance by all participants. Informing the critic of policy developments and issues in their portfolio. Some valued this as essential to the “shadow minister” role. How important is background knowledge and familiarity with the critic portfolio to success? What do you do when you are handed an unfamiliar critic portfolio?  Consensus regarding importance of having a (well- developed) general knowledge of critic portfolio. o Conceptualised as a “generalist-specialist” where technical knowledge or outside experiences helpful but not essential to effective performance in a critic role.  Importance of consulting with past critics and stakeholders frequently discussed. Many participants described the value of the Legislature’s Library as an under-utilized resource.  Importance of possessing good, qualified, and like-minded staff also frequently mentioned.  Conflict over the value of having background experience in critic portfolio. Some claim that it is helpful in-terms of establishing knowledge and credibility while others cite potential conflicts-of-interest or other credibility issues. Conclusions An opposition critic is an elected member of an opposition party who is assigned a critic portfolio, typically corresponding with a government ministry, and is charged with holding the government to account for its actions regarding that portfolio. While the role of opposition critic, also known as a shadow minister, has existed for a long period of time in Ontario’s and other Westminster-style parliaments, there is a lack of academic research regarding the role. Strong Shadows, means to address this lack of research and provide a meaningful contribution to the study of this ubiquitous role across numerous parliaments. Results To be an effective opposition critic, a critic must display a strong knowledge of their portfolio, strong performance in both the house and committee hearings, media and stakeholder engagement, along with other attributes identified in order to accomplish their various policy goals and their primary objective of holding the government of the day to account. Bibliography Blidook, Kelly and Kerby, Matthew. “Constituency Influence on ‘Constituency Members’: The Adaptability of Roles to Electoral Realities in the Canadian Case.” The Journal of Legislative Studies 17, vol. 3 (2011): 1357-2334. Dornan, Christopher and Waddell, Chris. "Building a Better Politics." Canadian Parliamentary Review 33, no. 3 (Autumn, 2010): 9-12. Hoque, Sabrina. "A Look at Rookie Members of Ontario's Provincial Parliament." Canadian Parliamentary Review 33, no. 3 (Autumn, 2010): 31-36. Reid, Linda, M.L.A. "Oversight of Regulations by Parliamentarians." Canadian Parliamentary Review 33, no. 4 (Winter, 2010): 7-10.