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3 • Thursday, April 12, 2012 O

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By Brice RoySPECIAL TO THE BEAVER

Politics can be tough to wrap your head around at any age, but to a local 13-year-old it comes easier than most.

Since March 19, Emma Mogus, a Grade 8 student at Pope John Paul II Catholic School in Oakville has been getting up early for the commute to Queen’s Park where she has been serv-ing as a page with the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

“It’s a great experience. I would do it all year if I could,” said Mogus. “I would encourage anyone in Grade 7 or Grade 8 to sign up.”

Mogus was one of 22 pages selected from approximately 1,000 Grade 7 and 8 students across Ontario based on several criteria.

All applicants must have an aca-

The Halton police Fraud Unit announced Wednesday it has made four arrests in connection with an alleged $16-million investment scam.

The arrests follow an 18-month investigation, assisted by the Ontario Securities Commission, into six compa-nies.

These companies included North American Carrier Services, which main-tains an address in Oakville, Hillcorp International Services, Hillcorp Wealth Management, Suncorp Holdings (no relation to Suncor Energy), Exxon Holdings (no relation to Exxon Mobil) and Petro Properties (no relation to Petro Holdings).

Police reported investors were alleg-edly told the companies were investing in offshore oil securities and 150 inves-tors, including numerous Halton resi-dents, were led to believe these invest-ments were poised to generate large profits over a short period of time. The loss to the investors was $8 million.

Paul DiNardo, 52, of Burlington; Rita DiNardo, 64, of Milton; and, Steven John Hill, 52, of Burlington each face charges of fraud over $5,000, money laundering and possession of proceeds of crime.

Anyone with information or other people who may have been victimized are asked to contact Det.-Const. Lorena Mallinson, Regional Fraud Unit at 905-825-4747, ext. 8740 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the website at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by tex-ting ‘Tip201’ with your message to 274637 (crimes).

Mogus scores more than perfect on MPP test

Quartet charged in $16-M scam

demic average above 80 per cent and submit an essay about their involvement in the community.

Despite the tough qualification requirements, Emma’s parents were confident in their daughter.

“We were very proud, but we knew she could do it,” said Janet Mogus, Emma’s mother. “When she puts her mind to something, she does it.”

A page’s duties include delivering messages and water to the MPPs when a session is in progress and preparing the chamber for the next session. In addition to their duties as pages, the students receive tutoring in the legislative process, math, and language arts.

“It’s really an enrichment educational experi-ence that they’re here for,” said Erin Tedford, legis-lative page program co-ordinator and instructor.

The pages must also write a test with the names, faces, party and seat allocations of every MPP and Cabinet member. Recently, Mogus proved she was more than up to the daunting task. She recorded a more than perfect score on her MPP exam.

“She had one of the highest grades on the test. She answered questions that weren’t even taught yet. She even got all the bonus questions correct,” said Tedford.

Mogus attributed the high mark to a rigorous study schedule in the weeks beforehand.

“I thought we were going to be tested on orien-tation day so I prepared for a couple weeks before-hand. I studied by making cue cards. I studied them every night for an hour on top of my regular schoolwork,” said Mogus.

Despite her intense preparations, Mogus admit-

ted she had some anxiety beforehand.“On my first day, I was very excited. I was

slightly nervous, but it was more of a thrill.”Mogus’ courage and ability to jump right in was

one of the things that stood out to Tedford.“She’s really impressed me with the way she has

overcome her nerves or any fear that was there at first. She is also extremely professional and con-ducts herself with integrity at all times,” said Tedford.

The ability to overcome any fear she had also came in handy when she met Premier Dalton McGuinty and Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

“It’s really a lot of fun meeting those people and very interesting to see how they got involved with politics,” said Mogus.

Although she has been busy with her duties as a page, Mogus said the hardest part will be going back to school and leaving Queen’s Park behind.

“I’m definitely going to miss the place,” said Mogus. “I know my way around the Chamber now like the back of my own hand.”Emma Mogus

“It’s a great experience. I would do it all year, if I could. It’s really a lot of fun meeting those people and very interesting to see how they got involved with politics.”

Emma Mogus, Oakville