What do MPs do on their three month summer break?

Here's a sure-fired way to annoy your member of Parliament this summer.

When you run into him or her at an event, ask how his or her three-month summer vacation is going.

They don't seem to like that question very much.

As of Friday, Parliament is adjourned for the summer: MPs will not have to return to Ottawa until September 15th.

But, according to two former MPs, the summer break is no summer vacation.

Former Tory MP Paul Forseth says that his summer days in his home riding in B.C were often longer than his days on the Hill.

"It's not a big holiday," he told Yahoo Canada News, noting that he spent his summers catching up on constituency work, re-engaging with local officials and attending community events.

Forseth says that, "just like everyone else", he used to take one or two weeks off for an actual holiday but other than that it was early mornings in the office and late nights at events and gatherings.

"Any MP that just kind of disappears for the summer will soon disappear from being a Canadian MP," he said.

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Liberal Dan McTeague echoed his former colleague's comments saying that, while he enjoyed being home with his family in the summer, it was a lot of hard work.

"[Summer break] was a chance to catch up on what I hadn't been able to do since Christmas," he told Yahoo.

McTeague notes that his summers consisted of a minimum of 30 meetings a week with constituents who needed to talk him directly (not a staffer) about sensitive matters with regard to immigration, Revenue Canada or issues relating to other government agencies.

"The demand has to be met," he said.

"You can't turn around and say, 'I don't want to meet with you.'"

The former MP adds that there was also a lot of "project work" and August caucus meetings to prepare for.

And while, some MPs don't work as hard as others, McTeague predicts that, this summer, politicians will do whatever they can to appear accessible.

"Remember," he says "we're really close to the next election."

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