St. Lawrence Politic and Debate Club at Forum Étudiant
From January 7th to January 11th, six students from Champlain St. Lawrence participated in the Forum Étudiant, a parliamentary simulation for college students from all over the province that is organized by the National Assembly of Québec and takes place in the parliament building.
The Forum Étudiant is an opportunity for students to gain a better understanding of the functioning of a democratic state by sitting directly at the heart of the National Assembly and experiencing Quebec`s politics at its core. While applying knowledge and skills acquired from political courses at the collegiate level, the students debated over bills, sat on commissions and represented their constituents at the Assembly, in the same way members of parliaments would in real life. They improved their writing and speaking skills while also learning about the parliamentary and legislative processes that shape Québec`s politics and its institutions.
The students from St. Lawrence were tasked with representing a conservative ideology as the official opposition in the National Assembly. The bills that were studied and debated touched upon free education, nationalization of collective means of transportation and immigration. They were to defend their own bill while also criticizing those of the socialist government while staying true to their ideology. However, issues that did not necessarily relate to the bills were also considered: gender equality, wages for doctors, and regional development to only name a few.
The Forum Étudiant is a simulation, and therefore, all political parties are fictional. However, all the issues discussed are rooted into contemporary challenges that face the province of Québec. Articles from the news were consulted and discussed about on a daily basis by the students. Some of these bills might even be debated one day by the National Assembly as they were sent to be reviewed by real policymakers after the end of the Forum. Therefore, the Forum is not a simulation but also an opportunity for the youth of today to voice their views and advocate change.
