Good day everyone!
My name is Heidi Pickard and I am NB’s Rep on YAC. This is my 2nd year as a YAC Rep and I had the chance to attend the Citizenship Seminar in Ottawa this past week as the YAC Assistant. I had a great week up in Ottawa and the conference went really well!
The conference started out on Friday, April 13th with the arrival of 53 very excited delegates from all across Canada. Our 2 BC delegates had arrived the day before and they were a great help welcoming the rest of the delegates at the airport, so a big thank you to them for that.
On Saturday, we started the day out with a bus tour around Ottawa and a guided tour of Parliament. The tour guides were amazing and very informative about our capital city! We also attended Fluton’s Maple Sugar Bush for a tour and horse wagon ride.
Sunday consisted of a newly created game of politics 101 called “cash cab” created by our very own assistant director Allison Porter. It was our first time ever attempting this game and we got lots of great feedback on how to improve for next year. We also had Judge George Springate come in and talk to the members about Citizenship and Immigration in Canada. He was a wonderful speaker and he had us all attempt a citizenship quiz to see if we have what it takes to be Canadian citizens…I’m sure I was one of the many who did not make it. We have lots to learn about our country! We also had Tyler McCann come in and talk to us about “A day in the life of an MP” and at dinner we had a keynote speaker, Jesse Hirsh, come and speak about the potential benefits and perils of technology associated with privacy and security. He was a very intuitive speaker and the delegates kept him on his toes with their many questions.
On Monday we attended a Citizenship Court Ceremony for a heartfelt swearing-in of new canadians led by Judge Springate. We also learned that one woman has finally become a Canadian citizen after 42 years of waiting! That makes you really appreciate your country even more! That night we went on an Ottawa Haunted Walk and I’m sure many of the boys including NB’s chaperone Harold Surrett, had quite a time scaring the girls.
On Tueday, we toured the War Museum and the Royal Mint. The delegates also had their Debate Session, which they did a really great job with. This year’s topic was; “Be it resolved: Should Canadians be prepared to give up some privacy for greater security. Or has the government already gone too far in invading our personal freedom?”
Finally on Wednesday, we had a presentation from the RCMP about privacy and security on the internet, the member’s had free-time at the Byward Market and we toured the Museum of Civilization. That evening we had our final banquet and final dance. Our guest speaker was Mike Allan, MP of New Brunswick who gave a great speech and one member from each province gave a small speech about what citizenship means to them. They all did an amazing job!
On Thursday, our last day, everyone said their final farewells and we all headed home after a long week full of great adventures.
I had a blast being the YAC assistant on this conference this year. I met lots of new people, learned so much and enjoyed working with such a great staff! I really want to thank Janet-lee Ferris the Program Coordinator, Glenda Symes the Program & Fund Development Associate, Joanne Hamilton the Seminar Director and Allison Porter the Assistant Seminar Director for giving me this opportunity and putting on such a great conference!
We also all went home with one great memory of our trip: The potatoe song, now known to us as the provincial anthem of New Brunswick: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7uyKYeGPdE
Check it out!