civic engagement

Neighbourhood councils seek candidates

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

If you’re comfortable discussing local issues in French, have a few hours a month to spare and have ideas about how to make your neighbourhood a safer or more enjoyable place to live, you might be the person your neighbourhood council is looking for. Elections for open neighbourhood council seats will be held between April 2 and April 28, and aspiring councillors can already apply online.

Quebec City has 30 neighbourhood councils, made up of volunteers who hold public consultations on local issues and make recommendations to city council and to borough councils on urban planning and issues of public concern. The councils receive a budget from the city to organize local quality-of-life projects – previous projects have included a citizen-run air quality testing program in Limoilou, compost workshops for gardeners and safety training for cyclists.

“To be a neighbourhood councillor, you need to be interested in your neighbour- hood – that’s the number-one thing. Councillors are consulted on a ton of subjects, particularly road safety and traffic,” said Coun. Claude Lavoie, member of the executive committee responsible for citizen relations. “We have everyone from young parents to retirees, and that’s what we want – a variety of points of view.”

Elected councillors are non-voting members of the neighbourhood councils in their districts, and make a point of attending regularly. “They [the neighbourhood councils] are consultative bodies. There was one example of a construction project in my district, where the neighbourhood council gave a very specific example of what they didn’t want, and the elected officials said, ‘We accept those conditions,’” Lavoie said. “The citizens often know about issues before we do, and having that link with them is very precious.”

Neighbourhood councils are also a training ground of sorts for civic involvement; current city councillors Jackie Smith and Marie-Pierre Boucher have cited their experiences on neighbourhood councils as stepping stones on their road to running for office. “It’s very relaxed and informal [but] it’s a great school; you can see elected officials at work and think, ‘Oh, that’s interesting!’” said Lavoie.

The councils were created in the 1990s by former mayor Jean-Paul L’Allier. So far, they are unique to Quebec City, although Lavoie said the city of Laval is considering setting up similar councils. “Even the mayor of Paris asked us about it when we were in Paris; she said they would look into setting up something like that,’” Lavoie added.

Potential neighbourhood councillors must be at least 18 years old and live or own a business in the neighbourhood where they wish to run. Unlike candidates for elected office, they don’t necessarily have to be Canadian citizens. They must get signatures from 10 of their neighbours supporting their candidacy and present their candidacy at their council’s annual general meeting. To learn more, visit ville.quebec.qc.ca/citoyens/participation-citoyenne/conseils_quartier/elections.aspx.

Youth on Boards gives young adults the tools to step up

Local Journalism Initiative / The Quebec Chronicle Telegraph / February 12, 2025 / civic engagement, Quebec City, Ruby Pratka, Y4Y, youth

Youth on Boards gives young adults the tools to step up

Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism

Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Twenty-five English-speaking young adults from the greater Quebec City area, Western Quebec and the Côte-Nord region started their journeys from the classroom to a local nonprofit boardroom this past weekend. They gathered at the Palais Royal hotel in downtown Quebec City for Youth On Boards, a two-day intensive training program co-ordinated by Montreal-based youth engagement nonprofit Y4Y.

The free program, which first ran in 2023, is open to teens and young adults ages 16 to 30. It “comes from an articulated need from youth in our community who were saying they wanted to have more leadership roles in the community organizations that serve them,” said Y4Y project co-ordinator Adrian Smith. “We also know from partner organizations we work with … that nonprofits would like to have more youth on their boards. The intention is to demystify what it means to be a director on a nonprofit board, and give [participants] the necessary skills and training.

“We often get participants from a variety of different levels of experience. Some people who don’t even know what a board is, which is great, the training is intended for them, too. But also sometimes people who are already on a board … on a youth council or in their student government or serving on a committee of a nonprofit or something like that,” he said. Plain language specialists from Éducaloi give participants a crash course in the legal and ethical obligations of board members on day one; on day two, the youth put their knowledge to the test with a series of simulations.

“One big barrier [to getting more youth on boards] is that there are not a lot of places for youth to find answers to what it means to be on a board,” said Smith. “Not a lot of your peers are involved in nonprofit governance, and you don’t really know that’s a possibility for you.

“I think it’s important for all young people in Quebec to know that having a diversity of perspectives in leadership is what a lot of nonprofits are going for. They don’t need every board member to have 25 years of experience as a lawyer in Quebec. They have a few of those already. They need some youth voices as well, to be talking about what issues are significant to youth in Quebec,” he added.

Kessy Iriza Karake, 18, is a business student at Cégep de Sainte-Foy who is considering going to law school. She said she enjoyed the opportunity to take the training in English and meet people from around the province with a wide variety of educational and professional backgrounds, including young people who were in law school or had become lawyers. She said she “learned lots of governance and leadership skills” and found the training very interesting.

“I’m interested in participating in nonprofits, maybe as a board member or just a member in general. Also, giving back to the community that gave back to me seems like an important thing to do in life,” she said.

For more information on the Youth on Boards program, contact Adrian Smith at adrian.smith@y4y.org.

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