Leaders of today: BU Forum comes to an end

The Bishop’s University civic leadership forum is drawing to a close. Though busy, the week-long event was filled with dialogue and sharing of ideas, which all involved claimed to be an extremely enriching experience.

“It’s going incredibly well,” said Rita Legault, director of communications and public relations for the Quebec Community Works Network, which worked with BU to create the forum. “There’s a lot of engagement. We have access to some pretty amazing people. We’re getting a high level of talent.”

“We’re giving these young people the opportunity to network, and not only with each other. We all know the importance of networks,” she said, citing the old proverb ‘it’s who you know’.

“Youth aren’t really connected with Quebec incorporations. We’re trying to help them, and encourage them to break that glass ceiling, give them the self confidence to shatter it,” she explained. “There’s this myth that their French isn’t good enough. Only a couple of these English-speakers thought that their French was good, and about a third of them self-described themselves as not being perfectly bilingual, when in reality, their French is really functional.”

She sympathized with the students, adding that the lack of representation of English speakers within corporations made it scary for the succession to break through.

“Being first is always hard, being the trailblazer is very, very difficult,” added Legault. “It’s so important that these youths, who are at a point where they are choosing careers, get to meet and speak to and hear these important institution leaders. We hope that they will stay in Quebec, bolster the community and give us some much needed representation. We are giving them real advice on real ways to create real change.”

The Record spoke to a few students who all agreed that it was an incredibly inspiring week. Gabrielle Stalker and Chad Bean, both Townshippers, shared their experience at the forum.

“It’s super exciting,” said Stalker. “I’m impressed that we got so many great people together in such a small community. It’s been super enriching. These are people who have experience in law, politics, business and it shows us where to go. As young people, it’s hard to figure that out. They give us options and they’re very encouraging. Everyone so far has been like: Go! You can do it!”

This encouragement from successful, smart people has been very appreciated, according to those who attended the conferences. Bean spoke to this in particular.

“I’ve come to realize, and some of the talks have touched on this, that there’s a lot of ageism. There’s this sense of ‘oh, you’re young, you don’t know anything yet’,” he confessed. “At the forum, they kind of banish that idea. They encourage us, reinforce the idea that we can do this, to continue.”

“There’s this assumption that when you’re 35, suddenly, you know everything,” laughed Heather Lawford, who was the assistant director of the forum. “But that’s obviously not true.”

“The strongest message that comes away with this is that these students have a lot of tools,” added Legault. “We need to tell them that they have these tools and that they can act, that they have important voices.”

“I think that there were a lot of takeaways from this event,” said Lawford. “These youths got a taste and a sense of Quebec life and met a lot of their peers who share the same values and visions as them. And I hope that they feel supported in their journey to create the Quebec that they want to see. They all have a part. They are leaders, they have passions and goals that are all very important. They give so much to our society.”

The forum will close today with a mock parliament assembly, where the students who participated will be able to present their ideas for change in Quebec regarding topics of their choice. Stalker is on a debate team that will talk about linguistic rights of Anglophones in the province.

“We’re going to attempt to broach the topic of making slight changes to Bill 101,” she said, knowing that it is often a touchy subject. “Not anything drastic or scary. We just want to modify it a bit so we can help a broad range of people, so it can benefit everyone: refugees, immigrants, people born outside of Canada, born in Canada, and not just Anglophones, but allophones as well.”

“There was a lot of talk of integration, so that we include all people. Quebec is so diverse, we need to be open to everyone,” Stalker added. “For example, there’s a lack in bilingual services. I completely understand and see the need for French, it should be preserved, but it really shouldn’t be this hard to have access to services in English.”

For Bean, the issue being tackled is indigenous rights.

“We’re taking a different approach than other groups,” he explained. “Teams are supposed to present only one proposition, but we have three, one for each teammate. We want to recognize the fact that we are white settlers, we are guests here in Quebec, really. We are representative of a patriarchal, British monarchy. Our aim is to decolonize, but do it in a different way, as a collective.”

To him, Canada’s greatest strength is diversity, and what Bean has taken away the most from the forum, is the opportunity to have listened to a wide spectrum of ideas.

“There are lots of narrow-minded people. But I think that stems from a lack of diversity. Diversity opens views. Integration of all of these different people and points of view is the strength of Quebec. Diversity is our strength,” he said. “The forum has been an eye-opener. We had different political representation, Liberals, NDP, Conservatives. I’m interested in diving into the political realm and this was a great introduction. I feel like, often, people tend to have their ideas and stick to their side of the story. For example, separation has always had a negative connotation to me, but one of the speakers, Gabriel Nadeau Dubois, he pointed out many valid, positive aspects. It just gains my knowledge, and helps me see where I can go from there.”

Corinne Haigh, one of the student coaches at the forum, said that all in all, everyone has learned much from the BU forum, and is an event that will hopefully continue for a long time.

“It’s been a huge benefit for the students. They have definitely been exposed to a range of voices from English leaders. They are the people leading change. And I think this has helped them dig a little deeper, and also given them a sense of

history. They’re going to take it forward, but we have also benefitted from this,” Haigh added. “It’s a benefit to everyone to hear from our youth, to see how the English community has changed. It’s a really valuable experience. It’s surprising in a good way to hear their thoughts and ideas. It’s like taking the pulse of our community.”

“So many people have worked so hard for so long for this to happen,” commented Lawford. “I think all this engagement comes from a deep love of Quebec, and the wish to give it the brightest future possible. It’s very touching and I feel honored to be a part of it.”

“When we first came here, we kept talking about ‘the leaders of the future’,” finished Legault. “Now we’re talking about today. These people, they are our future, but also our present. They’re capable now.”