The B.C. legislature has been injected with some youth.
From now until Monday, B.C. youth parliamentarians will occupy the seats of the B.C. legislature as part of the annual B.C. Youth Parliament (BCYP). The annual tradition now in its 90th year with representatives aged 16 to 21 coming to Victoria from across the province.
“It is an opportunity for youth to learn more about their parliamentary democracy,” B.C. youth parliament premier Sheridan Hawse said. “We have a motto: youth serving youth. If we only served the youth in the Lower Mainland, we wouldn’t be serving our motto.”
Hawse guides the organization alongside 96 other youth parliamentarians in the five-day legislative session.
A big part of the organization is Camp Phoenix. BCYP runs the camp for young British Columbians who otherwise couldn’t afford it. The goal is to send 48 kids every year.
“We really like to take a lot of time to make this great for them,” said the Minister of Camp Phoenix Rhett Mutschke.
“We apply for grants We fundraise. Each member has their own fundraising targets.”
Regional Youth Parliaments also take place across the province in the lead-up to the legislative session in Victoria. Those sessions are aimed towards high school students.
BCYP actually passes real pieces of legislation that are used to run the organization making it different than a mock parliament. The members are also responsible for going into their communities to encourage youth political engagement.
“Another one of our mandates at BCYP is to do parliamentary education to teach the youth about what is going on right now and how they can get involved,” BCYP Leader of the Opposition Alex Fraser said.
Legislation can also include policy items the members would like to see the actual provincial government put in place. First-year youth parliamentarian Parmida Bakhshi introduced a member’s resolution that got passed suggesting B.C. Education Minister Rob Fleming make changes to the province’s life skills curriculum.
Bakhshi is suggesting Fleming works with school districts to implement skills like taxes, banking and finance to curriculums. The legislation also called for substance abuse education for Grade 8 students by opening discussion so risks and consequences can be better understood.
“I hope that it will be communicated to the Minister of Education and the Premier of British Columbia and actually put into action,” Bakhshi said. “Obviously, you gain a lot of experience here, but what is really unique about BCYP is that you can bring forward ideas and actually make a change.”