Suze Morrison is among the first-time legislators on their way to Queen’s Park. And while she says her work in the non-profit sector and on boards has primed her for the role, she does have a number of practical questions.“Things like hiring staff, opening an office, who tells me where my seat in this house is, and where my office at Queen’s Park will be,” said Morrison, who won the Toronto Centre riding for the NDP.Last week’s sweeping Progressive Conservative victory is bringing a massive influx of rookie MPPs to the Ontario Legislature. The group of 73 newcomers is the largest in 15 years, and more than four times bigger than the batch of successful rookies in the 2014 provincial election.That wave of fresh faces holds both promise and the potential for pitfalls, experts say. Penny Bryden, a history professor at the University of Victoria, said the fresh perspectives of new legislators presents an opportunity to deliver on the electorate’s desire for government to do things differently. At the same time, she said, newbies can be liabilities, in that inexperience often leads to gaffes and scandals.“There’s a chance to think outside the box now,” Bryden said. “But then there’s the flip side of that, because nobody knows what they’re doing and therefore they make a lot of mistakes.”Read more:Doug Ford has lots of choices in assembling first PC government since 2003With Doug Ford as premier, city braces for fight over supervised injection servicesOpinion | Why Ontarians relate to Doug Ford and not his media criticsPremier-elect Doug Ford has no experience in provincial politics, Bryden noted, “so you’ve got the person who’s setting the tone not knowing what key it’s being played in. I think that will automatically suggest a higher likelihood of missteps.”The Deputy Clerk’s office told the Star there will be two days of orientation for new MPPs in June ...
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