text: We can't help the MP progress towards a climate agenda if we don't know her - so lets make sure we know her thoughts about things
  
  The meeting you've been waiting for has arrived. After some small talk you dive into your strategy.
  
  You thank MP Dinh again for taking the time to meet with you and Bob after which you ask her "Certainly there are 100 pressing things you could be doing right now, why did you agree to meet with us today?"
  
  Dinh responds in a genuinely interested way saying "no one has ever asked me that before." She proceeds to describe her reasons for meeting with you which include her family, specifically her 2 children. She expresses a sense of concern about climate change needing to be something which is addressed both by representatives & citizens of the country.
  
  You feel like you had a strong start, the MP is smiling and looks pleased. How should you followup?
  
  > reflect her climate concern
  It occurs to you, that you may have a unique opportunity here. If you can reflect her own reasons to do something - maybe you can help the MP reach her own conclusion to support this agenda, despite the different barriers she'll face.
  
  You say "So for you the major reasons to do something about climate change is to protect the future for young people in this country. That is something you can personally relate to because you have kids". "There's also a need for collective action - a way to come together to make meaningful strides to help protect future generations" You ask a follow-up question "How do you feel we're doing on the problem? Are we making meaningful steps to protect the environment?"
  
  The MP responds "Well I'm certainly doing everything I can despite the Conservative obstructionism towards carbon pricing. I am having a hard enough time even getting a simple baby step measure forward in committe for the G7 Oceans Plastic Charter."
  
  You say "So to summarize - there's so much resistance from partisanship that making any headway feels absolutely impossible. You'd like to do something to protect the future of your constituents and your own personal family - but with the blockade its impossible. There isn't a single sane Conservative that is stepping up to this problem that you can reach out to."
  
  The MP responds "Well, that's not totally accurate, there are some Conservatives that collaborate from time to time, there's just not enough to make a difference"
  
  This is amazing! You had previously heard about this concept called an "amplified reflection." Where you reflect someone's point back to them, but an extreme interpreted version of it while being careful not to sound sarcastic or hyperbolic. In such a case most people correct the inaccuracy. In this case when Dinh corrected you she said herself that there are opportunities for collaboration with Conservatives. You realize that if you had said "hey there's opportunities to collaborate with Conservatives" Dinh probably would have resisted it.
  
  Your thrilled that Dinh was able to share her own thoughts that not all Conservatives are bad.
  
  "So where do I go next?" you ask yourself.
  
  > explore past multi-partisan successes
  You figure that she must know of some collaborative successes if she was able to say "not all Conservatives are bad." You believe the best way to help MP Dinh feel empowered to make a difference in breaking down partisanship is to explore her own ideas on how to make that happen.
  
  You say "So most Conservatives are blocking progress, but not all. What ideas have you had to forge a cross-partisan connection - breaking down that barrier?"
  
  She responds that she's actually been thinking about that in a lot of ways, and that she was thinking about a new idea recently. She says "I'll share something, but this is strictly off the record. " You and Bob both nod and verbally acknowledge her request for confidentiality. Dinh continues "Well in conjunction with the RNNR I have been thinking about Susan Miller. If you don't know who that is, she's an MP from Milton, and deputy leader of the Conservative party. I've thought about reaching out and trying to start a relationship, but there are a lot of my Liberal colleagues who wouldn't trust any Conservative.
  
  You reflect back to Dinh "So Susan Miller from Milton is a possible option for crossing the partisan divide. You have doubts as to whether it will be fruitful, that said, you also won't know for sure unless you make a genuine effort to find common ground."
  
  You ask a follow up question "What do you think the best case scenario would be if you were to reach out and MP Miller was interested in collaboration?"
  
  MP Dinh says "That's a really good question". Just as her phone starts to ring, she silences the phone and puts her attention back on you. "Well I think the best outcome of collaborating with Miller would be helping the RNNR Committee to have more muti-partisan collaboration. Right now the RNNR Committee agenda is limited in its success because the type of work we deal with is very polarized right now. So the best outcome would be to get extra support for legislation on building circular economy concepts into extractive industries legislation without costing jobs or economic loss."
  
  You feel like things are going so well, but you also know time in your scheduled meeting is short. How should you try to finish the meeting
  
  > evoke Dinh's thoughts on how to reach Susan Miller
  You think the best way forward is to help Ng to connect with MP Susan Miller. Since you know very little about her you think your best approach is to help Dinh go through a planning process herself. Besides if she's successful, maybe there will be the potential for other collaboration efforts. Hopefully environment will be an area on which the 2 MPs can find common ground.
  
  You say "Well I'm certainly no expert on Ms. Miller's track record, but it seems like you've actually considered this before. I'm guessing, from what you said, that making a genuine approach to developing trust would be crucial. If Susan Miller were to reach out to you, what would help you trust her?"
  
  The MP looks very interested and says "I just really like how you talk about things, you get to the heart of the matter, directly, but without the aggressiveness. I really like that." She continues, "Well if she supported us on the rollout of the G7 Oceans Plastic Charter, I think that would go a long way to building my trust. I think I also know where your going with this, by looking at what would help me trust Miller, I can consider what would help Miller to trust me."
  
  You blush at the MP's compliment, saying "Thanks - well it seems like you have the know-how to make a plan on how a cross-partisan relationship could be built. How might you meet Miller in a way that would build trust? Or be a gesture of good faith?"
  
  Dinh responds "Well, in all honesty I'm not prepared to answer that yet, that would take some research from my staff."
  
  You summarize "So Susan Miller might be a conservative with whom you could see eye to eye. You're not totally sure the exact steps you might want to take, but you know a bit of research could help to explore what might work". You follow up by saying "So what do you think is next for you?"
  
  Dinh responds "I think the next step is for my staff to look into this and see if we can find something Miller is supporting that we can get behind."
  
  As your leaving the office, Bob said that went really well. You have a short little heart to heart about the need to make environmental actions happen now, and he appreciates what your doing.
  
  You feel like your so close, Ng herself was talking about plans what if anything should you do now?
  
  > wait to hear back from Dinh's office
  You need to respect her space, so you wait for Dinh's office to take the lead on this.
  
  After a week goes by you start to feel discouraged, after a second week goes by you reach out to Bob to share your frustrations. Why didn't they write back to us?
  
  Bob tells you, don't take it personally - and also don't think that you failed either. People are fickle, maybe other issues are taking her attention now, or maybe connecting with us just slipped through the cracks. There is a 100 reasons why they might not send us correspondence.
  
  Volunteering for CLACC is oftentimes thankless work. You ask Bob, why do you volunteer with CLACC after letdowns like these?
  
  Bob responds "Because I know that if, as a group, we reach out to 50 legislators (or more) then some of us will make a difference and some of us won't. Also it often takes a lot more than one visit - we have to build a relationship. If you need any more reason to feel better, just imagine what you did accomplish here. We started that relationship."
  
  You contemplate and share with Bob, "Without CLACC we wouldn't even have a fighting chance, that's why we do what we do."