Mayoral candidate wants to lower voting age

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This article was published 25/07/2014 (4098 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mayoral candidate Robert-Falcon Ouellette wants to lower the voting age in Winnipeg to 16.

Ouellette, a University of Manitoba administrator, pledged to work with the province to amend legislation to allow more teens to participate in elections.

Teens aged 16 and 17 are more likely to be at home and in school than older teens or people in their 20s and could be engaged early enough to ensure a long-term commitment to voting, Ouellette said Friday morning at an announcement at Provencher Park, where he unveiled a package of promises aimed at children in Winnipeg.

Ouellette, who has five children, also pledged to offer free transit for kids up to age 12, provide free swimming lessons to kids, extend summer library hours, offer child-care subsidies and partner up with a beach-bound bus service. He did not cost out those pledges.

Ouellette also pledged to spend $15.1 million on four small new aquatic centres connected to schools.

He also promised to issue an annual “state of the city’s children” report and create a youth advisory council.

These pledges were embedded in an 11-page policy document prepared with the help of Winnipeg academics.