MP Don Davies with Windermere students Gaelan Emo (left) and June Lam in the House of Commons. Photo by Alicia Tiffin

Two Windermere students, June Lam and Gaelan Emo, were the lucky recipients of an all-expense paid trip to Ottawa from May 28 to 30, hosted by Don Davies, MP for Vancouver Kingsway. June and Gaelan won the opportunity to participate in Canada’s Parliament through the 2017 Create Your Canada contest.

Started by Don Davies in 2009, this annual contest is open to all Vancouver Kingsway students taking Grade 11 or 12 classes. Create Your Canada challenges students to propose ideas that they feel will make a better Canada, or a better world.

The winning idea is submitted by Davies to Parliament where it is drafted into federal legislation in the form of a Private Members Bill. Davies then flies the students to Ottawa to watch as he formally introduces their bill in the House of Commons.

June and Gaelan are both senior students in Windermere’s Leadership program and have been actively involved in their community. They were selected for their idea to create a tax incentive that will encourage food producers, suppliers and retailers to donate perishable food to charities.

“We both became interested in food security through Windermere’s Organic Garden, which produces food for our school cafeteria and the community,” said June.

“We discovered that 31 million pounds of food is wasted in Canada every year, but there are still many Canadians who don’t have enough to eat,” added Gaelan. “We wanted to find a way to solve both of those problems.”

The winners were treated to a jam-packed two-day tour of Parliament Hill where they visited the House of Commons, Senate, Peace Tower, Library of Parliament and Sir John A. MacDonald’s office, and attended Question Period. They also had time to tour the Supreme Court of Canada and the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec.

“I think this is an engaging and fun introduction to Parliament and a great way for youth to share their vision for our country,” said Davies. “I am proud to bring the voice of youth to our debates.”

Honourable mentions for the 2017 Create Your Canada Contest go to:

• Nika Asgari and Ana Brinkerhoff from Sir Charles Tupper Secondary for their idea to amend the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act.
• Karen Caslib and Natasha Fahbod from Windermere Secondary for their idea to ban the production and use of plastic bags.

Davies personally funds the Create Your Canada program, and no taxpayer dollars are involved.

Copyright (c) 2017 Renfrew-Collingwood Community News