Electoral Reform committee  Don't do it during a referendum or an election; simply put, don't do it. I forget which prime minister said it, but elections are not the time to be educating people on these issues. It's not the time. You need to be doing it anyway beforehand and afterward. You need to revamp the school education system.

Electoral Reform committee  I might be a little bit boring, so I apologize ahead of time, but politics is not supposed to be hockey. That's what it comes down to. When you put these ideas of parties onto people, especially youth, I think you can create quite a toxic environment. I think we like the independent stuff more because we get actual discussion, actual debate and discourse on these issues.

Electoral Reform committee  Yes.

Electoral Reform committee  We didn't actually talk about.... Do you mean the vote, or the idea of a referendum?

Electoral Reform committee  The idea of a referendum, yes. That wasn't brought up at all. I think if we were to have a discussion, that would be an entirely different discussion. I don't think anyone would have been opposed to it, but referendums, especially in this context, do present a number of issues.

Electoral Reform committee  Part of the debate was that we would feel a bit more empowered if our vote counted. I think when you're growing up, you do want to feel like you matter. During this debate and discourse, that was actually part of it, that your vote will matter and people will listen to you. Then when we were walked through the system, that was....

Electoral Reform committee  There's actually one member who fervently fought for lowering the age of voting to 16. He's been a huge proponent of that within this organization, and we've always debated it. I think generally people do like the idea that if you start allowing people from a young age to vote, they get more engaged in the process.

Electoral Reform committee  That's interesting. What are their opinions on the current system? I think the general consensus on the current system among the youth I've spoken to, when they get a grasp of the system—it's a big issue in terms of the education behind it—is this. I had a professor who once described electoral systems as certain...things that are not appropriate, I guess, for the committee.

Electoral Reform committee  Is that on average?

Electoral Reform committee  Okay. It's probably 1.5, and I'm being really honest. If you think about it and take a look at the education systems and the curricula that are imposed on students within their systems, and then look at the difference between urban schools and rural schools, you see that the education systems can sometimes differ greatly.

Electoral Reform committee  I'd like to start by thanking everyone for inviting me and my organization, Newfoundland and Labrador Youth Parliament, to come in and speak with you all and testify. We really appreciate it. It speaks volumes about what the government and committees think of youth engagement and youth voices.