The 17th Mount Pearl Pathfinders held a mock council meeting at City Hall this month where they discussed a real council agenda and held debates of their own. Pictured, from left, are Kelly Bulger, Heidi Kavanagh, Angela Weir, Chloe Locke, ‘Mayor’ Erin Rose, Isabelle Soper, Nnene Offia, Megan Butler, Erica Thistle, and Beverly Bennett. Missing from the photo is Norah Bennett. Submitted photo
By Mark Squibb
City staff handed over the keys to the council chamber to the 17th Mount Pearl Pathfinders earlier this month for a mock city council meeting.
The young women read through a full council agenda from a previous meeting before holding two debates of their own – should the City host a monthly activity for youths aged 10-13, and should dogs be allowed in all City parks?
“It was interesting, and fun, to discuss these topics,” said Erica Thistle, 13, who allowed that council work can also be difficult work.
“We decided that overall, dogs shouldn’t be in all public parks,” said Thistle, who has been a member of the Girl Guides for about five years. “The City could also add more garbage bags and poop pick up bags.”
Erin Rose, 15, assumed the Mayor’s chair for the evening, and thus had to moderate the meeting and subsequent discussion.
“I had to make sure that everyone was heard,” said Rose. “I learned that everyone in the room should be heard, and everyone should have a say.”
In regards to a monthly youth night, Rose said that “council” decided that a youth night could be held at the Reid Centre, with a designated ‘quiet zone’ at the library.
Rose has been a member of the Girls Guide since elementary school.
Kelly Bulger, one of the club leaders, said that the mock meeting allowed the young women the opportunity to see firsthand how municipal council meetings are conducted.
“They learned how politics work, and how democracy works,” said Bulger, explaining that activities such as the mock council meeting are designed to broaden the girls’ horizons and introduce them to new career paths.
The Pathfinders were joined in chambers by real life City councillors Isabelle Fry and Chelsea Lane.