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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2007-05-10, Page 24Despite recent public forays into high-profile national controversies, and his own newly-achieved status as a federal Liberal nominee, Justin Trudeau stuck mainly to topics of environmentalism and youth engagement during his afternoon- long participation in a school board- sponsored event Saturday in Mitchell. Trudeau, son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, met with students and delivered a keynote address as part of, Bringing it Home: A Celebration of Cultivating Character at Mitchell District High School. A former teacher who’s now studying for a Master’s degree in geography, the 36-year-old has been a supporter of the Ontario education ministry’s character-building initiative since being made aware of it a few years ago. “Unfortunately, young people today are told over and over that they’re supposed to become the leaders of tomorrow,” he said, earning some laughs by switching to a booming, God-referencing voice for the final four words. “We need them to realize that young people have to be leaders today,” because the real decision- makers of modern society – he cited ultra-successful American businesspeople Bill Gates and Warren Buffett – aren’t adequate leaders. Then, quoting Albert Einstein, he added a new level of thinking is necessary: “the problems we have created cannot be solved at the level of thinking that created them.” Later, responding to questions from the local media, Trudeau explained “the confidence I have in our young people comes from years of working with them and talking to them.”And he said he hopes to build his political career by acting as “a catalyst” who makes it possible for young people to act as agents of change. Reporters attempted to draw Trudeau into discussions about public funding for two distinct Ontario school systems, about funding for small schools, and about Quebec separatism. In the first two cases, he pleaded a reluctance to get involved in provincial jurisdiction, and in the third case he declared a reluctance to open a Constitutional can of worms. He did, however, respond that his own discussions with Canadians both inside and outside his Montreal riding reveal “they are tired of having discussions about things that divide us. They want to talk about things that unite us.” In his keynote address, he avoided those topics entirely. His message commenced under what he later described as a cloud of “doom and gloom,” beginning with an exploration of the environmental effects of modern society, and advancing to an argument that Canada’s failure to champion solutions to these problems is swiftlycausing the country to lose itsreputation as a leader amongnations.“We live in the greatest country onthe planet,” he said (to applause), but “just being Canadian is (also) a tremendous responsibility.” Canadian soldiers “fought way above our weight class” in two world wars, Trudeau said, bringing to mind his own recent acting debut in a CBC television documentary about the Second World War. And even now, “the way we build our communities; the way we work together” is seen by many as a possible model for other nations to adopt in their efforts to escape from generations of strife. But during a question-and-answer session with the audience, he charged Canada’s politicians with a failure to lead, instead encouraging a society that’s “coasting” on its reputation. Even though there’s currently an unprecedented awakening of environmental awareness in Canada, “unfortunately, this has arrived at a time when we’ve elected a government which is disproportionately beholden to oil and gas interests in Alberta and, therefore, sort of has its hands tied.” “We’re the largest per capita producers of waste in the world; the largest per capita users of freshwater in the world,” Trudeau said. A reputation for global leadership “is something we need to work to get back.” There were references to his famous lineage. “When I was a kid,it was very easy to developcharacter. All you had to do was goon a camping trip with your parentsin the rain,” he said, conjuringimages of a buckskin-clad Pierre Trudeau paddling a remote lake. And when cataloguing the Avon Maitland District School Board’s list of 10 positive character attributes – which it aims to promote through subtle inclusion in the existing curriculum – he drew laughs by having this to say about “fairness”: “My father believed in a just society, or so he said. And he did, believe me. Around the dinner table, you should have seen him dividing up the pieces of cake for dessert.” Mostly, however, he kept coming back to young people. He professed a keen familiarity with the newfangled tools of near-instant communication favoured by today’s youth, and offered his take on why the failure of Canada’s political and social mainstreams to engage young people effectively drives them to seek acceptance in video games, gangs, and on-line communities. “What we need to do is convince our young people that they do matter,” he said. And, apologizing for the pessimistic message with which he began his address, he added, “I’m very optimistic. Filled with hope.” Like the young people who seek a place where their opinions are valued, he said, “you need to believe great things are possible, that the world is going to change, that you can make a difference.” PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2007. Face to face Justin Trudeau meets with the media during a recent visit to Mitchell. Trudeau, a federal Liberal nominee, was the keynote speaker at an Avon Maitland District School Board event. 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