Kings-Hants MP to establish constituency youth council

Sometimes the voices of young people get lost in the shuffle when it comes to federal politics.

Kings-Hants MP Kody Blois recognizes this and is following up on a commitment he made during his recent campaign.

He said he would work to establish a constituency youth council if elected. The 28-yearold, currently the youngest Liberal MP in the House of Commons, said it is still relatively rare to have people who are under age 30 involved in politics.

However, student vote initiatives in elementary schools, junior highs and high schools seem to have piqued an interest and created a generation that is more politically engaged. Blois sees the council as a way to foster a sense of opportunity for young people to appreciate public policy development and community matters as they relate to the federal government.

“I felt this was a good forum to be able to allow people who are engaged or have an interest in public policy, politics or just trying to make their community better, to have an outlet to reach me directly,” Blois said.

He isn’t going to be overly prescriptive of the outcomes, but the council’s work will focus on issues of federal jurisdiction. These could include the environment, agriculture or Indigenous affairs, for example.

The members will largely decide what sort of experience they have, but it is likely that tangible community projects will grow from the initiative. The plan is to establish a 16-member council for Kings-Hants, made up of people between the ages of 14 and 25, that meets at least six times a year.

Kings-Hants MP Kody Blois is establishing a constituency youth council for the riding. Sarah Hines, of Canning, who serves on the Prime Minister's Youth Council, will serve in an advisory capacity to the Kings-Hants council.

Blois said he’s really proud of the people they’ve selected to have oversight and independently choose the best candidates for the committee, which will be launched sometime this spring.

He said that, in 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau put a lot

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of emphasis on youth. He established the Prime Minister’s Youth Council and encouraged other MP’s to establish similar constituency youth councils.

The federal riding Kings-Hants contains four provincial ridings. Blois said the thought is to try to

select four individuals from each provincial riding but this will depend on who is interested and who applies.

Blois hopes to visit each of the six high schools in Kings-Hants to speak to young people about the importance of youth leadership. If there happen to be more than 16 young people who are interested in serving on the council, he wants them to have an opportunity to engage through their school. Holding a youth leadership conference for the riding to get more young people involved is also a possibility.

SHARING INSIGHT

Blois said they are fortunate to have Sarah Hines, a 24-year-old Canning resident who also serves on the Prime Minister’s Youth Council, in the riding. She will share her experiences and insight, acting as an advisor to the KingsHants council.

Hines said she is very excited about the initiative and is happy to be part of it. She is involved in a non-partisan role and said she and Blois would co-chair the committee.

She said part of her role on the Prime Minister’s Youth Council

is to consult with the community and with other young people. This will also be the case with the Kings-Hants council.

Hines has been a member of the Prime Minister’s council since July and describes it as “the opportunity of a lifetime.” She has met some “amazing” young people from across the country.

The Prime Minister’s council meets monthly via teleconference and they meet in person a couple of times a year. This past August, Hines travelled to Iqaluit, Nunavut, to meet with the other members in person for the first time.

Hines agrees that more should be done to engage young people in federal politics. She doesn’t think civics is given enough attention in the school system and the youth council is a great way to improve this education gap.

“We’re going to be inheriting the future Canada and I think it’s really important to consult and give youth a voice at the table to hear their ideas,” Hines said. “I think that we are among the most forward-thinking demographics in Canada.”