If you are between 15 and 25, you will be able to have your voice heard when it comes to the issues affecting Thunder Bay, and the country as a whole.

Applications officially opened for the Thunder Bay-Superior North Youth Council, and anyone interested has until Nov. 23 to get theirs in. This is the 7th annual year, and allows youth to work directly with riding MP and newly announced Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu.

“Even in a virtual experience that we have had in the last couple years, it’s been amazing to watch young people come in, and sometimes they’re quite shy but not always, sometimes people have a very loud voice, but to watch the group gel over the year and learn from each other as well as really start to feel empowered to be able to speak to me and tell me what they really think about important issues,” explains Hajdu. “Often times they are issues that are very relevant to the country, for example climate change, climate resiliency, issues around equity and fairness and racism. These are things that really matter to young people but really matter to the country. It’s really helpful to me because I can represent the young voices from my riding if I’m hearing directly from them.”

Hannah Caruana was involved in the council, and says the experience helped her grow as a person.

“Some of the issues we talked about the most include climate change, climate resiliency, COVID-19 and talking about what the new normal is going to be within Thunder Bay and within our riding,” explains Caruana. “We also talked a lot about the addiction strategy in Thunder Bay and our riding, also talking about tuition costs. We also spoke about Indigenous nation to nation relations within our colonial government and First Nations within our riding.”

Caruana goes on to say anyone who is interested should apply, as she was surprised about the impact and connections she feels her and the rest of the council made.

This year will be a hybrid model because of the pandemic, with some in-person meetings and some gatherings held virtually.

The youth council will begin after applicants are accepted, and will wrap up around the same time school does next year.

If you are interested, you can apply here.