Imagining Ontario’s Future was the theme of the Ontario Liberal Party’s Conference in Blue Mountain, Collingwood.  Quite a beautiful and elegant place, but please don’t ask me why it’s called Blue Mountain because I did not get a chance to ask. However, I did see mountainous landscapes, but not blue ones though. I am working on it and will be glad to share by the time I find out why the name “Blue Mountain.”Anyway, back to the reason I was there in the first place. I was invited to serve as a Panelist at a session hosted by the Young Liberals through a friend I knew via Facebook but we had never physically met. The communication regarding the conference was literally in real time because it was through Facebook and I religiously check it. Not that I don’t check my emails too, but things evolve at a pace thrice as fast on Facebook compared to my emails.

There were four main discussion topics; “Second to none: enhancing the post – secondary experience,” “Let’s talk money: Students financial assistance,” “Keeping up with the times: New workforce, new jobs,” and “Rock the debate: getting youth involved in politics.” Don’t worry, I am not going to bore you with the nitty gritty of these discussions, I will instead provide highlights of my exchange and contribution to the topics (that’s the advantage of being the author).

It was interesting to see the question of student debt versus jobs take over a good portion of the entire discussion, no matter which topic was being considered. I quickly realized that some people in the room knowingly or unknowingly were arguing that there was automatic success when one  acquires a University degree or has post secondary education. In other words, it sounded to me that people were arguing in favor of loans as long as you got a degree out of it. I quickly pointed out that the debt issue was not the primary source of students’ challenges in terms getting a post secondary education. The real problem is the question about the outcome. Are students getting the value for the dollar?

The true answer to this question is NO. We must first realize that university grads are becoming frustrated now due to the impossibility of translating their degrees into success– they earn the bare minimum. To add to their woes, they have already mortgaged their future in the sum of at least $40,000, an investment that is depreciating over time in my opinion due to technological improvements and changes in society. For students and anybody in general, debt is not a problem when it is manageable. If we have to pay for a $40,000.00 degree and still compete with everybody else for jobs at the local Tim Hortons, Starbucks, etc. how in the world can we manage the debt, not to mention earn a living?

The next big issue was about making Canada an attractive destination for International Students. There were several ideas. But no one seem to realize how much wealth and resources we have in terms of cultural capital which gives us a unique edge in championing international education. In fact, I was very impressed when someone asked why should they care so much about international students when education is an unachievable goal for thousands of young people in Canada. No one really answered the question; it was either side stepped or brushed over. For me, the question really hit close to home and the answer is simple: we see international students as the easiest means of making money. They’ve become our “cash cows”.  Why should we even be behind in recruiting international students when we are the most diverse country in the world? The simple truth is our education system and institutions have failed to engage our local communities in a manner that is empowering to build a stronger nation. Let me put it this way: our educational institutions need to bring back humanity and a community outlook to academics. Our institutions have become cities of their own isolated from the very communities they seek to serve. How come we do not have ambassadors from literally every country in the world demonstrating what it means to be Canadian educated, even though it is one of the best in the world? I will leave this one with you as a food for thought: Until we truly recognize the cultural capital we have and be willing to engage it in a manner that is empowering at all levels, we will always be playing catch up to other nations when we should be leading the way.

After the youth session, it was refreshing to meet the Premier (Hon. Dalton McGuinty) and Malcolm Gladwell, an author and columnist from the New Yorker in the evening for the grand opening of the conference. At this point, I decided to measure exactly what the Liberals were hoping to achieve. I truly believe they were well intentioned about imagining Ontario’s future, but I remain unsure as to how you can imagine Ontario’s future mostly with people who agree and share similar views with you, with no dissenters. Maybe it was a political strategy. I’m not sure, as I am not a very good politician due to my skepticism, although I love the definition on paper.

Besides, at the end of such an intense brain exercise, it was rewarding to exchange pleasantries with the Premier and Malcolm including some photo – ops. It was also rewarding to connect with some great people in their respective areas.

I remain unsure if the Ontario Young Liberals in particular were happy and objective about the outcome of the conference. However, my piece of advice to the young liberals is simple. Maybe it is time to vet the numerous researches and related academics we so much rely on in making our opinions about our country. They are largely based on theories and theories are mostly biased. I know they are very important for ordering “facts,” but we also need to realize that they are written to serve someone, some purpose, etc. Let us imagine Ontario’s future with the community since they are already waiting for the opportunity to take care of themselves rather than our continuous attempt to be the ones making decisions for them. Let us have the discussions, make and implement the decisions with the community since it is the future of all of us we want to imagine.