OACS News Service

A map of Canada was one of the prizes the students received for their winning proposal, as well as a pin featuring the House of Commons coat of arms, a desktop Canadian flag and a certificate of recognition from Parliament.
Students win for proposing plastic bag ban
Achievement shines spotlight on London Christian high school
Monday May 31, 2010 -- Michelle Strutzenberger
Two London District Christian Secondary School (LDCSS) students have won first place for their proposal for a bill to see plastic bags banned in Canada.

Grade 9 students Miranda Van Rooyen and Hannah Deboer participated in a contest that asked secondary school students in the London area to draft legislation around a national issue.

London-Fanshawe riding MP Irene Mathyssen spearheaded the contest, called Create Your Canada, which ran January to March of this year.

“As a teacher prior to my election to parliament, I know our students have great ideas about what Canada can and should be,” said Mathyssen in a press release.

“The political decisions of today will impact them in so many ways, so I wanted to give London area students an opportunity to help shape their own future.”

A panel of local community leaders evaluated the submissions from students across the region.

Hannah and Miranda’s winning proposal has now been presented to the clerk of the House of Commons to be drafted into legislation.

Once it is ready for presentation — likely in the fall due to a research snag — the students and a chaperone will be Mathyssen’s guests in Ottawa, with a round trip provided by VIA rail.

In Ottawa the students will join Mathyssen in the House of Commons, to see their bill tabled as legislation for consideration by Canada’s Parliament.

“I’m really proud of us, for how much work we did and that it all paid off,” says Hannah.

When their win was announced, the students were interviewed by the local TV station and featured in the evening news, which was also exciting, she says.

Miranda says in light of this project the thought of a future career in politics has surfaced a little more than it did before.

“Beforehand I wasn’t really thinking about politics but now I’m thinking more about it. It’s definitely a possibility,” she says.

Hannah and Miranda credit their civics teacher Laura Miedema for helping them with their achievement, noting she mandated participating in the contest as a class assignment and suggested tackling the issue of plastic.

LDCSS advancement director Kerry Wilson agrees Miedema was instrumental in the students’ success, pointing to the fact that another student from the school, Maria Knip, placed third in the contest as well.

“They have a fabulous teacher and I don’t say that lightly,” says Wilson.

“Her whole teaching style is very creative and the kids are taught from day one to think outside the box and really put themselves into what they do. So I really credit her a lot with what we’ve seen happen.”

Wilson adds a side benefit to this activity is that it contributes to the reputation of LDCSS as a participating community member, “not cloistered off in our little corner but part of what’s happening in the city.”

As for the possibility of the proposed bill moving forward in the House of Commons, assistant to Mathyssen Shawn Lewis says this depends on a couple of factors, including the timing of the next election and the support that can be mustered across partisan political lines.

“A number of Bloc Quebecoi MPs have already expressed some interest in supporting this, as well as some northern Ontario MPs, because the obvious substitute for plastic is a return to good old sturdy paper bags,” says Lewis, noting that the forestry sector has advanced significantly in the past two decades and paper bags can now be produced in a sustainable manner.

“MPs with large forestry sectors in their communities are interested in the economic opportunities this could create for a sector that has been devastated in recent years,” says Lewis.

While realistically the proposed bill won’t get beyond first reading in 2010, barring an election, “there is a very real change MPs will be debating this in 2011.”

This is the first year the Create Your Canada contest has run in London. Mathyssen plans to continue it as long as she is in office.

NDP MP Nathan Cullen for the Skeena-Bulkley Valley riding in B.C. organized the first such competition in 2008-2009.

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