City report backs adults-only board volunteers

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This article was published 13/04/2023 (1194 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE City of Winnipeg doesn’t appear set to roll out the welcome mat for volunteers under age 18 to serve on all of its boards and commissions.

Individual groups could still choose to ask council for permission to include youth, though.

Last summer, then-councillor Shawn Nason called on council to remove the requirement that only adults be eligible for those positions, which he argued would open up a broader pool of applicants and better engage youth.

On Wednesday, a public service report said city staff don’t recommend that a blanket change be made, noting this could conflict with other bodies and levels of government that set rules for some of the groups’ memberships. For example, the Winnipeg Police Board is largely controlled by provincial legislation.

“Removing the age requirement from the policy could put the policy in conflict with a number of boards. As such, the public service does not recommend amending the policy to remove the age requirement for all boards and commissions,” the report states.

Individual boards could seek city council approval to invite youth under 18 to join them, the report notes.

A former member of Youth Parliament in Manitoba said she appreciates the challenges of lowering the minimum age, but efforts to better include youth are still needed.

“Youth engagement can’t stop here. It’s just really important that all of those committees and all of those boards continue to do their due diligence to consult with youth or to work with youth organizations even if they can’t lower the age,” said Nina Lam, who spoke on her own behalf.

“For (youth) to be represented is more than being tokenized on a board, it’s about having our voices be heard by decision makers. As residents of this city, I think that it’s really important for us to be able to be engaged in those conversations and it starts with having youth directly in those spaces where decisions (are) being made.”

— Joyanne Pursaga