While on a recent private visit to the Isle of Man, Speaker of the Ontario Legislature Hon Steve Peters MPP met Speaker of the House of Keys Hon Steve Rodan. As a noted authority on local history Mr Peters was inspired to visit the Island to gain a little first-hand knowledge of the Island’s cultural and parliamentary heritage. He said: ‘My visit to the Isle of Man was an excellent learning experience that provided me with a sense of what more than a thousand years of parliament have accomplished. The non-partisan nature of the government is certainly something that I was interested in learning more about, and had the opportunity to do during my participation in a mock parliament at Castletown. I am thankful for the informative visit and tour of the House of Keys with Speaker Rodan, and the hospitality extended to me by the friendly people of the Island.’ Mr Rodan said: ‘It was an honour to be able to offer Mr Peters an insight into the Manx parliamentary system and I am also delighted that he was able to learn something of how democracy developed in the Island through his visit to the Old House of Keys. ‘Not only did Mr Peters’ visit provide an opportunity to share experiences of our roles as Speaker but also for my part, I was interested to learn that, away from the Legislature, Mr Peters is something of a world expert on Jumbo, the Barnum and Bailey circus elephant that died in St Thomas, Ontario in 1885 after being hit by a locomotive.’ ENDS