Attawapiskat youth named to Ontario youth council

Chelsea Edwards of Attawapiskat First Nation was recently selected to vice-chair the new Premier’s Council on Youth Opportunities.
The 17-year-old is one of 15 youth from across Ontario chosen to represent the interests of youth and children and provide advice to the Ontario government on how to better deliver programs for youth.
“We talk about issues impacting youth and how we can try to work and get our youth engaged in decisions,” said Edwards while she was in Toronto on March 21 meeting with the other council members for the first time.
Edwards said she felt both “excited” and “nervous” to be asked last fall to be on the youth council.
“But once I actually got to the meeting I got overwhelmed because of all the information you have to learn,” she said of the orientation day. “You have to learn all that in one day.”
The Grade 12 student is the official spokesperson for Shannen’s Dream, a campaign aimed at pressing the federal government to provide equitable funding for education in First Nations communities.
Edwards has also previously been chosen to be an Aboriginal Youth Ambassador of Canada and met with the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child last year to discuss the issues facing Aboriginal youth, including education, health, child welfare, culture and languages.
The advisory council will engage with youth, young professionals and community partners to ensure that young people across the province have the tools they need to help them succeed.
While it currently has 15 members, the youth council will consist of 25 youth from a variety of cultures, communities and backgrounds. It will give advice on how to improve the delivery and design of government programs and services for youth, report on specific challenges and share ideas on how to best support youth.
The initiative is part of the government’s plan to ensure young people get the right training, and can enjoy safe communities and exciting job opportunities. The council builds on Ontario’s Youth Action Plan.
Edwards said at this point, most of the council members are from southern Ontario and that she and another youth from Thunder Bay represent northern Ontario.
Members of the council will serve a one-year term and meet monthly to talk about issues, programs, and strategic planning.
The council will report to the premier and the minister of Children and Youth Services.