We Believe - YES to #VOTE16
C
anada is a parliamentary democracy and, as such, we,
youth representing the voices of children under 18 across
Canada, believe that the voting age should be lowered in
order to facilitate as much representation as possible.
The reason why citizens have suffrage to begin with is because
the government exercises power over citizens. In return, citizens
play a role in shaping the government. The crucial problem is
that young people under 18 are still subject to the authority of
the state in most of the same ways as adults, but are denied
democratic representation. Alexia, a student from Calgary,
Alberta, describes that "youth are treated as children, yet expected
to act as adults." As youth, we can be sent to prison, but still have
no capacity to influence the laws dictating what is considered
criminal. We pay taxes—income taxes for some, and sales taxes
for most—but do not get a say over where those taxes are spent.
Youth in Canada are effectively subjected to taxation without
representation, contravening the principles of democracy and
representation upon which Canada was founded. The
relationship between the state and the young citizen is, in
