The 14 young people from Brooks Secondary School who will form the nucleus of this year’s City of Powell River youth council met for the first time in council chambers on Wednesday, February 27.
“Today we're going to have a general overview on local government, how the youth council can inform government, be involved in decision-making and make recommendations to council, and they're going to learn how to run a meeting,” said city councillor CaroleAnn Leishman who, along with fellow councillor Rob Southcott are council’s representatives for youth council.
It is not an idle after school activity. Students receive no academic credit for it, a situation that has been brought to the attention of School District 47, according to Leishman. She said they will try again this year to persuade the district that being part of the council is worth some credit.
Youth councillors have the opportunity to bring forward their own concerns and address issues important to their peers.
“It's really important to take advantage of your voice, especially as a youth in the community, and speak out on issues that concern youth,” said 17-year-old Annika Krowitz. The grade 12 student added that she wants to bring forward a motion for a vegetarian option at the Brooks cafeteria.
“We never got around to delivering it to council so I'm hoping to do that this year,” said Krowitz, who joins youth council for the third time.
Because they are students, members of youth council have a vested interest in what goes on at Brooks but have no standing to influence the district.
Cody Johansen, 17 years old and in grade 12, has ideas about funding issues at Powell River’s high school and sees youth council as a good opportunity to talk about what he cares about, such as physical education and litter, especially to-go coffee cups that he sees tossed all over Powell River.
“At school, there arefunding issues with all sorts of programs,” said Johansen. “The Brooks outdoor program got cut because they couldn't afford to pay for a substitute teacher while the teacher who ran the outdoor club was out doing camping trips and stuff.”
Recommendations that come out of youth council are not ignored by the senior council, according to Leishman. They have previously pushed for putting in gender-neutral washrooms at city hall and recycling at City of Powell River Recreation Complex.
“They wanted to improve the recycling and waste management at the complex because they saw firsthand that recycling bottles were being thrown directly into the garbage can, which was going to landfill,” said Leishman. “They acknowledged that there was a better way to do that so they were the initial jump starter of the multi-separation bins at the complex.”
