On November 24, 2016, Nunavut’s Representative for Children and Youth took part in the Legislative Assembly’s televised Biennial Youth Parliament. At the event, the Representative spoke to youth parliamentarians about the RCY’s office and answered their questions on a variety of issues.
“This event was an amazing opportunity to connect with youth from across Nunavut and our office was honoured to take part,” Representative Sherry McNeil-Mulak said. “We were impressed with the issues youth raised and the caliber of the questions they asked.”
Issues raised by the youth parliamentarians included: the need for recreational and community facilities, language loss and a call for more Inuktitut within the education system, the lack of in-territory drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs and the need for more mental health awareness and treatment programming. Since the event, the RCY’s office has analyzed the issues that youth participants raised and will be bringing these directly to the attention of DMs, Ministers and MLAs.
The Representative’s participation in this year’s Youth Parliament also helped mark National Child Day, which celebrates the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child every year on November 20.