Huron Expositor, 2007-05-09, Page 11go ol
News
Canada needs to work to gain
back reputation as global leader
From Page 11
And even now, "the way we build our com-
munities; the way we work together" is seen
by many as a possible model for other nations
to adopt in their efforts to escape from gener-
ations 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 unprece-
dented awakening of environmental aware-
ness in Canada, "unfortunately, this has
arrived at a time when we've elected a gov-
ernment which is disproportionately beholden
to oil and gas interests in Alberta and, there-
fore, 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 some-
thing we need to work to get back."
There were references to his famous lin-
eage. "When I was a kid, it was very easy to
develop character. All you had to do was go on
a camping trip with your parents in the rain,"
he said, conjuring images of a buckskin -clad
Pierre Trudeau paddling a remote lake.
And when cataloguing the Avon Maitland
District School Board's list of 10 positive char-
acter attributes — which it aims to promote
through subtle inclusion in the existing cur-
riculum — 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, he kept coming back to young peo-
ple. He 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
online communities.
"What we need to do is convince our young
people that they do matter," he said.
And, apologizing for the pessimistic mes-
sage with which he began his address, he
added, "I'm very opti-
mistic. 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."
-
lan MacGregor gets a chance to
meet Justin Trudeau on weekend
From Page 1
weekend as part of the Avon
Maitland District School Board's
Cultivating Character event in
Mitchell.
Chosen to attend because of his
well project and the way it demon-
- strates many of the characteristics
being promoted by the Avon
—' Maitland school board, Ian got a
chance to talk
about the pro-
-
ject to thoses in
attendance.
"I think kids
all over the
-a world should
have clean
drinking water,"
he says.
"It's easy for
me to get a
drink of water
and I think that
for kids in
Africa, it should
be the same.
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Trish says it's been fun to watch
Ian's reaction of amazement when-
ever people have donated money to
the cause.
"His eyes will be wide with disbe-
lief and he'll say, 'Mom, they don't
even know me.' But, I tell him,
'They know your heart and they
want to support you,'" she says.
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The Huron Expositor • May 9, 2007 Page 11
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