CC: Jody Carr, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development
I am writing as an expatriate of Sussex, NB. Following my K-12 education in New Brunswick, I moved to Ottawa to study
at Carleton University in 2005. I understand moving into the most politically
charged arena in the country from a small town would be somewhat a culture
shock for many, but I soon noticed that students educated from other provinces had
much more political education than I had.
That was discrepancy I acted
quickly to mend, and I became involved in partisan and non-partisan political
organizations. Through my studies and activism, I came across the Student Vote
program that parallels real elections with a high school voter imperative. Therein, high schools organize information sessions
about the actual parties and candidates and students cast their votes on Election
Day. The Student Vote program engages youth in our democratic tradition of
learning, sharing, and debating. At a
time when youth voter apathy stains Canadian politics, programs encouraging
youth voter engagement must be offered.
While New Brunswick students
have participated in the federal parallel elections, the province has never incorporated
this program into their curriculum during a provincial election. As New
Brunswickers are hit with austerity budgets on the federal and provincial
levels, I want to reiterate the importance of education in creating good
citizens and the thinkers of tomorrow.
In short, I am writing to
encourage that the NBTA and the Ministry of Education work together to ensure
that necessary resources will be available for New Brunswick high schools to
run a Student Vote election parallel to the 2014 provincial election. New
Brunswickers value their democratic tradition, and a fiscal deficit cannot be repaid
with a democratic deficit. I hope that my thoughts have been presented as amicable
and that a public commitment to a 2014 Student Vote initiative is issued.
Sincerely,