For immediate release: Sunday, June 6, 2004

EDMONTON — Young Canadians must recognize that federal policies have a profound impact on their futures and get out and vote accordingly, says the Chair of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees Young Activists Committee.

“This is especially true for young people who are active in the union movement,” said AUPE Vice-President Kathie Milne. “Some parties back policies that would hurt the interests of young people, students and union members.

“It’s important that young Canadians make the effort to understand the issues in the election and make sure their views have an impact through the ballot box,” she said.

“Face it, politicians aren’t going to pay attention to the concerns of young people if youth won’t get out and vote,” Milne stated.

Elections Canada statistics show that only 25 per cent of 18- to 24-year-old Canadians voted in the 2000 federal general election. The percentage was even lower — less than 23 per cent — among 18- to 20-year-olds.

AUPE is continually involved in urging its members of all ages to be active in the political process, noted union President Dan MacLennan.

“We were inspired by the example of Jason Heistad, a recent member of the Young Activists Committee who was elected as a town councillor in a by-election in Innisfail last July,” MacLennan said. “And it’s why AUPE is urging young people through our youth committee to become aware of the issues and to get out to vote.

“AUPE doesn’t try to tell its members how to vote,” MacLennan added, “but we want them to know which parties offer union-friendly and youth-friendly policies and to vote accordingly.”

The Young Activists Committee met in Calgary on Wednesday and Thursday of last week to plan a series of one-day seminars for young union activists over the next year, Milne said.

The committee will organize day-long seminars for AUPE members under 30 in Grande Prairie, Hinton, Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge starting in November 2004, she explained.

Since many young AUPE members are new to the union, the seminars will start with an introduction to AUPE and the services it offers members, she said. “In the afternoons, we’ll have sessions on knowing your rights in the workplace, with an emphasis on such issues as health and safety and attendance harassment.

“There will also be sessions on world and Alberta labour history, with special attention paid to the role of young people in the union movement,” Milne said. “There will be a social event in the evenings.”

The seminars will run through the winter of 2004-2005 and into the spring of 2005. Specific dates have not yet been set.

More information for young people interested in the federal election and the democratic process can be found on the website www.apathyisboring.com.


For more information, contact:
Dan MacLennan, President, AUPE, 780-930-3301 or 780-232-8392 (cellular phone)
Kathie Milne, Vice-President, AUPE, 780-930-3382 or 780-504-1024 (cellular phone)
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)