After attending Canada 150 and Me in Ottawa, a local teen says he feels connecting with other youth is the biggest factor to bring about change.

Spencer Teetaert left for Ottawa on June 24 and returned Monday morning. Teetaert notes during his time in Ottawa he was able to explore parts of the city, tour museums, and visit the Aga Khan Foundation.

"Their goal is to help improve the quality of life in underclass villages and towns in Asia and Africa. So, we did a workshop on sustainable growth and agriculture, we got to visit their community gardens, that was really cool."

He says the group of 150 from across Canada also visited an art gallery where they helped give tours and sang with a group of French singers during the Canada Day opening ceremonies. Teetaert notes, while he did not get to meeting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he was about ten feet away from him during the ceremonies.

Teetaert explains the group of youth was split into six to eight groups and each group was given five minutes to present their opinions on change to the Governor General.

"After all the presentations the Governor General went up and did a speech. He was very impressed and inspired by what we could do in two days of preparation."

He says along with connecting with other youth to bring about change, also being exposed to the necessary resources to aid in bringing about that change.

Teetaert notes, "I want to give the youth in southeastern Manitoba a voice. An idea that's been floating around in my head, that has proved successful around Canada, is a youth advisory council. That's something I wish to pursue and make happen in this area."

He says he would also like to create a platform to educate youth on politics and voting. 

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