We toured the House of Assembly with Clair. She was very friendly, knowledgeable and informative, and we learned a lot about the history, culture, and politics of Newfoundland and Labrador. During our tour we had the good fortune to by chance meet Minister Davis and Premier Ball. They were both extremely friendly, welcoming, and kind, and made our tour extra special and memorable!

Learn a little history about how this province came into Confederation, the trials, obstacles and challenges it faced along the way. Experience all of this by taking a free tour at the Confederation Building right off of Prince Philip Drive. You can even see Signal Hill and Cabot Tower from the main lobby right out the front door. Incredible scenery, amazing building. Make sure to park in a visitor spot, not a spot where federal workers have a permit or where there are reserved spots for members of the House. Enter by the Visitors Entrance and sign in. You will have to show some form of picture ID. There are tours often, usually at 9:30 AM, 11:00 AM, 1:30 PM and 2:45 PM. No reservations necessary; just show up, sign in, they will clear you through security and then your tour guide will meet you. I was very fortunate to have Claire as my guide. She came downstairs to meet me at the Visitors Entrance. I was informed that I would be taking my tour with a group of senior citizens from St. John's who were on an outing. Claire was fabulous, incredibly knowledgeable, patient, enthusiastic, accommodating and most of all, flexible with our group. She has a fine grasp of all of the important facts, figures and people involved in Newfoundland Confederation. The most impressive part of the tour was to see the House of Assembly Chamber. Claire was able to talk about everything from the color of the walls and carpeting, to the mace, to all of the gifts from all of the provinces, to the Latin above the Speaker's chair (QUAERITE PRIME REGNUM DEI) meaning "seek ye first the kingdom of God". So incredibly meaningful and really brought the rest of the chamber together for me in terms of meaning and the journey of Newfoundland from a political standpoint. The desks that you see in my photographs can be moved depending on the makeup of the Chamber, certain party members will be seated on one side while other members on the other side. Also interesting that each speaker gets to choose who will paint the official portrait and each portrait hangs in the chamber as well. Overall this is a fabulous opportunity for anyone to learn about Newfoundland politics, compare it to your own political system, and learn a bit about the significance of the House Chamber. Claire was fabulous and if you are able to request her as a tour guide, please make sure you do. She really does make the tour that much more meaningful. The tour typically last about 45 minutes, but you may want to allow about an hour to an hour and a half to look around and take pictures of the lobby and realia present there.