This statement was written by members of BGC Canada’s National Youth Council (NYC). The NYC is a council comprised of youth across the country who give input on and reflect youth issues and goals. The NYC operates independently of BGC Canada.

As youth of BGC Clubs, we are concerned with policies and issues that urgently affect youth across the country. We welcome the creation of the State of Youth Report and its insights on key issues, including reconciliation, climate, health, employment, and leadership & skills building.

As settlers on Indigenous territory, we are concerned about systemic racism and the ongoing oppression of Indigenous youth and communities across Canada and its Nations. We echo the State of Youth Report’s call for non-Indigenous Canadians to adopt citizen responsibility and engage with the histories, cultures, and rights of the original caretakers of this land. We ask that the government uphold its promises and take concrete action through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, including land back, in order to reconcile Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.

As young people who will bear the costs of climate change, we are frustrated with governments and their lacklustre response to the ongoing climate crisis. Young people across this country and the world deserve to grow up in a clean, safe, and healthy environment. We echo the calls of the report and call on government to prioritize the advice of Indigenous elders and scientists over corporate interests, and to take immediate and serious action against industries responsible for emissions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated many struggles that youth are facing throughout the country. With uncertainty in our lives, disruption in our education, termination or unavailability of employment, and disconnection from our supports, youth mental health is more important to address now than ever.

However, the support currently available is inadequate, especially in many smaller communities. Many feel the answer is technology, however these same communities lack consistent and stable Internet access and some youth do not have access to devices. Youth want and are willing to seek services to help with both their mental and physical health struggles, but need services that suit their unique needs.

The pandemic has exacerbated existing issues facing youth in leadership and employment. Youth across the country are struggling to find meaningful employment and leadership opportunities. Often, the youth who are most affected by the issues at hand are the ones who don’t have the platform to speak on them—for example, youth in rural and remote communities tend to have far fewer opportunities to discover and develop their leadership and employment abilities.

We agree with the State of Youth Report’s calls for greater investments in paid internship and employment opportunities that have career growth opportunities, as well as the need for a centralized database that collates leadership as well as employment opportunities for Canadian youth outside the difficult to use Canada Job Bank.

With the appointment of a new Cabinet, we look forward to the action the Honourable Minister of Youth will take on the recommendations of the State of Youth Report. It is crucial to empower and engage youth voices on key issues because when youth are able to grow and thrive through activism, better health outcomes, and employment security, they are better able to contribute to their communities, Clubs, and country.

The BGC movement commits to supporting Indigenous children, youth, and families in the communities we serve. We commit to creating equitable spaces for Indigenous staff, partners, and community members. We call for an end to the systemic inequities faced by Indigenous communities. We stand for Truth and Reconciliation.

We acknowledge that Indigenous peoples have suffered under colonial and postcolonial policies. We believe that to work respectfully with Indigenous nations, our staff needs to be aware of the collective impact that intergenerational trauma continues to have on Indigenous children, youth, and families.

 
We need to learn and understand our shared history in a way that moves us towards a stronger and healthier future, with relationships rooted in mutual understanding and respect.

We know that by supporting Indigenous young people, we strengthen society overall. We also know that our ability to provide transformative spaces and meaningful opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous young leaders to forge new pathways together is a crucial contribution to Truth and Reconciliation.

We are guided by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which establishes the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples and protects them from discriminatory policies and practices.

We are also guided by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s final report, and in response to their Calls to Action, we will:

Build knowledge and awareness of Truth and Reconciliation at Boys and Girls Clubs by offering learning/unlearning and capacity-building opportunities for Club leadership, staff, volunteers, and members (children, youth, and families) that will increase understanding of Indigenous peoples, cultures, languages, communities, histories, the impact of colonial actions, intergenerational trauma, and the role that we can play in walking the path of Reconciliation (TRC Calls to Action 92iii and 62i).

Seek meaningful and sustained relationships with Indigenous communities and organizations, nationally and locally, based on equality, good faith, and mutual respect, to work collaboratively towards equitable, accessible, and culturally relevant and responsive services for Indigenous children, youth, and families (TRC Call to Action 66).

Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commitment Statement has been developed with Club leadership from across the country, in consultation with Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and youth leaders, and has been approved by our national Board of Directors. This statement will continue to move us towards our vision that all children and youth discover and achieve their dreams and grow up to be healthy, successful, and active participants in society.

92iii Provide education for management and staff on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. This will require skills based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

62i Make age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for Kindergarten to Grade Twelve students.

66 We call upon the federal government to establish multiyear funding for community-based youth organizations to deliver programs on reconciliation, and establish a national network to share information and best practices.

BGC Canada acknowledges that our work, and the work of our Clubs, takes place on traditional Indigenous territories. Recognizing the importance of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 94 Calls to Action, we have written the BGC Canada Truth and Reconciliation Commitment Statement to ensure that positive action on Reconciliation continues within the Club movement and in the broader communities where we work and live. The Statement is meant to be adopted by BGC as a commitment to use their resources in service of Reconciliation.

We would like to share our endless gratitude to those who supported the development of this Statement with their valuable feedback, input, and insight:
 

• Elder Wallace Awasis
• Myeengun Henry
• Allan Jamieson Senior
• Vivian Whitecalf, Co-chair, Battlefords Reconciliation Group
• Tim Fox, Natoyi’sokasiim, Kainai Nation/Blood Tribe
• Rick McLean, Animiqwoam, Anishinaabe, Odawa, Wolf Clan whose grandfather was a member of the Wikwemikong Unceded First Nation
• Mahegun Tails Inc. (Sharon Goulet, Suzanne McLeod)
• BGC Staff and Truth and Reconciliation Committee members (Krista Broadbent, Ron Brown, Heidi Carl, Nicole Combres, Lindsay Cornell, Krista Harvey, Christy Morgan, Shirley Puttock, Stefaun Tingley, Shannon Yule)
• National Youth Council Social Justice Committee (Sydney J., Shaheema N., Yaël W.)

The latest message from Owen Charters, President & CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada (June 5). Full transcript below.

Today is Unplug to Connect, a day where we celebrate the work we do in Clubs face to face.

Unplug to Connect emphasizes how important it is to get disconnected from our devices and meet in person. Ironically, the only way for me to connect today is virtually, through this video, for instance.

And I am going to tell you that I am tired. Really tired.

Tired of connecting virtually and not in person. And really tired of the same problems that don’t get fixed.

This was a week of unrest and upheaval—protests against anti-Black racism in the US and around the world.

These protests are against a system that has serious flaws, serious problems that are not getting fixed.

My family knows racism. When my Japanese grandparents arrived on the shores of Canada, it wasn’t long before institutionalized racism meant they were stripped of all their belongings—their homes, their business—and incarcerated in internment camps in the interior of British Columbia as enemy aliens. It’s only one incident in a legacy of racism that continues today in this country.

Racism against Blacks, Indigenous, and People of Colour is insidious. It is what our Clubs contend with each and every day—the effects of pervasive racism.

I’m not alone in being tired of this fight—our National Youth Council have stated that “we are frustrated, angry, and emotionally exhausted.” Read their full statement here, and read Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada’s statement here.

Clubs are part of the solution, and they continue to work hard to confront and eradicate the effects of racism. They teach core values like Belonging, Respect, Speaking Out, which are central to creating inclusion.

It is also the start of Pride Month. Our work to create a society that is just, equitable, and safe for all is paramount. Our goal is to ensure youth can see and access all the opportunities that should be open to them.

I know that despite my heritage I now stand here as a person with privilege, and as an ally. I must take action. You must take action.

We must have the difficult conversations and open dialogue that are necessary to move forward and ensure Black, Indigenous, and all youth of colour have the right to be full participants in society and to walk without fear. Be an active part of the solution.  Do as our national youth council asks: Sign petitions. Call, text, and email. Write letters. Walk, demonstrate, donate. Educate yourself and your family. Check on your affected friends.

And take care of yourself.