OTTAWA - While most MPs were enjoying a final day in their home ridings, some were already in Ottawa learning the ropes.
The parliamentary class of 2011, which returns to work Monday when the House of Commons resumes sitting, includes 108 new members.
About four dozen of them gathered this weekend for an orientation session organized by Carleton University that provided a first-hand look at government institutions.
Before hunkering down for a full day of panel discussions Sunday, the rookies visited the Governor General, the British High Commission and the Supreme Court.
"That's an institution (Supreme Court) I think all of us have learned something about in high school or in college," said new Tory MP Dan Albas.
"But to be able to ask questions and see how we fit in in the greater context as institutions working toward serving the public, I thought was very important."
Earlier, MPs gathered for breakfast, breaking off into small groups like kids milling about the schoolyard before the first bell. Old political hands who had been invited to address the new class deftly worked the room while the newbies and some of their spouses made small talk in the corners.
Among the senior statesmen taking part in panel discussions was Derek Burney, a former Canadian ambassador to Washington and chief of staff to former prime minister Brian Mulroney.
Burney stresses the importance of time management in an environment replete with distractions.
"They'll convince themselves: 'My goodness, I've been working 14 hours a day, handling calls, doing this and that.' But at the end of the day what will they have to show for it?" he said in an interview.
"You have to understand the difference between appearing to be busy, which is very easy, and being effective, which is not so easy."
The steep learning curve that comes with the job is also a challenge, even for those used to public life, like new New Democrat MP Jinny Sims, who used to be the president of the B.C. Teachers Federation.
"A lot of us bring great skills with us from other walks of life and it's just a matter of getting to know how the system works," she said.
The orientation session is one of several programs offered to new MPs.
The Library of Parliament runs seminars throughout the fall, and the individual parties have also been hosting sessions of their own.
Carleton University President Roseann O'Reilly Runte also offered whatever academic support she and other university presidents could provide.
"We will never give you any advice, but we certainly will be always open to listen and always be willing to tell you our frank opinion, and that might be worth two cents," she said in a speech to the new MPs.
But she also didn't waste her captive political audience.
The first order of business for many MPs will be looking at ways for the government to begin whittling down the deficit through spending cuts.
Keep the money flowing to universities, said O'Reilly Runte.
"Hard times, hard choices. But if you pick the right things they will lead everybody to success and we will be able to continue investing the future," she said.
