Youth Parliament of Manitoba

Established in 1922, Youth Parliament of Manitoba (YPM) is a non-partisan, non-denominational, non-profit organization that educates youth in effective public speaking and the parliamentary process. It is open to all youth in the Canadian province of Manitoba who will be between 16 and 20 years old as of December 31 of the year of the upcoming Winter Session. Session takes place each year from 26 – December 30 at the Manitoba Legislature in the capital city of Winnipeg.

Organization

YPM is a model parliament and bases its organizational structure and nomenclature on the Westminster Parliamentary system. YPM has three primary, organizational groups: the Board of Directors (also known as the Parliamentary Executive), the Cabinet, and the backbenchers. (The backbenchers and the Cabinet are also collectively termed Members-at-Large.) As well, Senators and an Honorary President can be appointed by the Board of Directors from time to time.

Board of directors

YPM Inc. was incorporated on August 22, 1983. The corporation is currently run by a 5-person Board of Directors elected by and from its membership. The positions on the board are:

• the Chairperson (Premier);
• the Past Chairperson (Speaker);
• the Vice-Chairperson (Deputy Premier);
• the Director of Finance (Deputy Speaker); and
• the Director of Procedures (House Leader).

Elections take place annually on December 30 at the Manitoba Legislature during the Winter Session.

Cabinet

The Cabinet is appointed by the Executive from the Members-at-Large of the previous Annual Session. The Cabinet assists the Executive in organizing and holding the Annual Session.

Current Cabinet portfolios include:

Upper Cabinet

• Registrar General (drafts membership list)
• Ministry of Government Services (arranges for transport and accommodation)
• Ministry of Human Resources (recruits new members)
• Ministry of Labour (prepares food)
• Ministry of Finance (arranges sponsorship and donations)
• Ministry of Revenue (arranges sponsorship by alumni)

Lower Cabinet

• Ministry of Alumni Affairs (maintains relations with past members)
• Ministry of External Affairs (deals with outside correspondences)
• Ministry of Publications (publishes official documents)
• Ministry of Public Relations (handles media relations)
• Ministry of Supply and Service (produce and sell YPM paraphernalia)
• Female Whip and Male Whip (supervises backbenchers)
• Ministry of Rural Development (maintains relationships with rural communities)

Backbenchers

All non-Executive and non-Cabinet members of YPM sit as backbenchers during the Annual Session and are assigned a riding name (e.g. Member from Winnipeg South Centre).

Senate

By decision of the Board, former members of YPM who have made outstanding contributions to the organization can be named Senators.

Honorary President

The Honorary President is usually a prominent member of the community that the YPM Board of Directors seeks guidance from and asks to attend portions of the Annual Session.

Alumni Achievement Award Winners

The winner of the Alumni Achievement Award (AAA) is an alumnus of YPM who has gone on to significant achievement at the local, national, or international level.

History

In 1922, George Stewart, Lieutenant Governor of the Youth Parliament of Manitoba and North Western Ontario, opened the first Annual Session of the organization. It was one of the first such YPs in Western Canada, preceded only by the TUXIS Parliament of Alberta and followed by British Columbia Youth Parliament and Saskatchewan Youth Parliament. Its goal at the time was to develop leadership and awareness of the parliamentary system in young men.

At the time, youth parliament was just one of the activities started by the TUXIS youth movement. This organization, set up by the Canadian Protestant community, was designed to encourage social, academic, religious and physical activity among young men and was based on the biblical passage Luke 2:52, which states "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and with people."

By 1971, Manitoba's youth parliament (by this time called the TUXIS and Older Boys Parliament) was made completely non-denominational. The Oath of Allegiance and legislation was thus no longer written solely for specific religious groups.

On December 28, 1972, a special meeting was called to admit women as full members into the organization and change the name to Youth Parliament of Manitoba. Previously, women could only be admitted as associate members and could not vote on legislation. Seven years later, Ann Thompson became the first female Premier of YPM and, one year later, the first female Speaker.

YPM has also hosted the second, sixth, tenth, and fourteenth sessions of Western Canada Youth Parliament.

Past members

Many of YPM's past members have gone on to successful careers in a variety of fields. Some of the organization's more prominent past members include:

• Lloyd Axworthy (former Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, current President of the University of Winnipeg), Premier of the 39th Annual Session
• Bill Norrie (former mayor of Winnipeg), Premier of the 27th Annual Session
• Tom Axworthy (principal secretary to Pierre Trudeau from 1981 to 1984), Premier of the 47th Annual Session
• Robert Steen (former mayor of Winnipeg), Premier of the 33rd Annual Session
• Wally Fox-Decent (former Chair of the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba), Premier of the 35th Annual Session

See also

• Manitoba
• Winnipeg
• Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
• Western Canada Youth Parliament
• Youth Parliament of Canada/Parlement jeunesse du Canada

External links

• Youth Parliament of Manitoba website