Briefly: October 18, 2013

Call for youth

A provincial youth service organization is asking community leaders to nominate exceptional people for this year’s BC Youth Parliament (BCYP).

BCYP is looking for 95 young people, aged 16 to 21, from around the province, who are able to spend time at Christmas to debate youth-oriented service projects and put them in place in 2014.

“We’re after young people who want to learn more about our system of government, make life-long friends and take part in projects that benefit our province’s youth,” said Ambrose Yung, who is serving as premier for the upcoming year of BCYP.

Participants meet at the BC Legislature in Victoria between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve each year to debate and vote on the organization’s proposed activities and issues of local, national and international importance.

BCYP is not a mock parliament and delegates do not sit or vote as members of political parties. Following the five-day parliamentary session, participants return to their communities to begin work on the plans for service they debated in Victoria.

“We’re asking community leaders, elected officials and others to think about young people who’d be great members of this organization,” said Yung.

Nominations are open for three weeks beginning on Wednesday, October 23. To qualify, nominees must be BC residents, meet the age requirement, be able to commit to one year of service and be interested in learning more about how Canadian democracy works.

For more information about the organization, readers can visit online.

Union members sign off

Members of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 476 have voted unanimously in favour of recent provincial and local level contracts.

Powell River’s public school clerical staff, custodians, education assistants, trades and bus drivers make up the first local in the province to sign off on agreements which include a 3.5 per cent wage increase over two years. Local 476 members voted on the agreement at their general meeting held Wednesday, October 16.

Local 476 president Daphne Ross has not heard yet about how the agreement will affect staffing levels and hours, but she is concerned that without more funding from the provincial government, the agreement will “squeeze school districts.”

“[School District 47] will try to do it as painlessly as possible, but it’s going to be very difficult for a small local,” she said. “There’s no way that this won’t affect kids—whether it’s busing or cutting back on maintenance. Cutting back on custodial staff affects everybody.”