Learn all about the ”24-Hour Fast for Katimavik” at its new blog. You are also invited to the Facebook event.

The last federal budget proposed to cut the Canadian youth program, Katimavik. On May 21, 2012 a group of Canadians will undertake a 24-hour fast to protest the cut and encourage the reversal of this decision.

The first idea was to gather 21 Canadians for the one day fast, a tribute to the 21-day hunger strike of Senator Jacques Hébert in 1986. The program was cut at that time, but Hébert’s passion and the determination of like-minded Canadians led to a new Katimavik that has been serving communities since 1994. The idea of the fast caught on quickly and our numbers are growing well past the original 21. We are represented by Canadians from across the country, by participants across generations and their supporters.

We hope this peaceful protest will prompt the government to reflect on the program’s great value to Canadian youth and communities, and cancel the proposed cut.

You can now access the Facebook page without a Facebook account. Link.

In 1984 I participated in a Canadian program, Katimavik, making a difference by volunteering in three Canadian communities, and changing forever the way I understood Canada. In the last federal budget, Katimavik was put on the chopping block. It makes no sense. Katimavik is a part of Canadian history. It is also an efficient investment in Canadian youth, generating two dollars of economic value for every dollar it invests. Mulroney’s Progressive Conservatives cut the program once before. Senator Jacques Hébert went on a 21-day hunger strike in protest. The program survived. As a protest to the current cuts, and in tribute to Hébert’s hunger strike, Canadians are organizing a 24-hour fast on May 21 starting with 21 participants. Join us. Find more information on our Facebook page.

I will be going to a ”Save Katimavik” protest on Parliament Hill, Monday at 12 noon. For those not able to attend, there will be live broadcasting online at CUTV Montreal. You can learn more on Facebook and Twitter.

(painting and photo by Shannon Leigh Goodhead)

Katimavik is a Canadian program in which young people travel to different Canadian communities and do volunteer work. In the last federal budget, the government cancelled funding for the program. This was a bad decision that should be changed.

In 1984, I lived in a small auto town in Southwestern Ontario. I had not traveled out of Ontario, and assumed the rest of Canada was much the same. I was just finishing grade 12. A friend of mine said he was thinking about signing up for Katimavik. “Katima-what?” I asked. Looking at his brochure I saw a rugged lifestyle in return for a dollar-a-day spending money. “Are you crazy?!” I asked. Not quite sure of what to do next myself, a week later I signed up. Over nine months I volunteered in three communities, English and French, with a group of other young Canadians. We raised the original foundations of Fort Frontenac in Kingston Ontario. We helped build the historic cable car park in North West River Labrador. We volunteered in the school library of St. Brieux Saskatchewan. The program expanded my sense of self and my identity as a multicultural Canadian. I learned self-sufficiency and job skills. I returned to my hometown a changed person. I know for certain that I changed direction at this point, thinking more broadly, going back to school, taking on challenges that have kept me an employed and engaged Canadian citizen. It became the foundation of my lifelong participation in Canadian political and cultural life.

Let’s face it, the funding of Katimavik has become a partisan issue. It was founded in the 1970′s by Trudeau’s Liberal government and later cut by Mulroney’s Progressive Conservatives. It was re-instated after a massive protest by Canadians and the hunger strike of Senator Jacques Hebert. The program has been cut again by Harper’s Conservatives. We know that Stephen Harper and the Conservatives care about investing in youth too. Let’s take a moment to consider why that investment should continue in Katimavik. Nearly three generations since its inception, Katimavik is established in Canadian culture, an option seriously considered by many young people. Say “Katimavik” today and young people know what you mean. It is a program storied by past generations. It is wrong to cut it. On economic terms alone, the program has clear return-on-investment. The annual budget for 2010-2011 was 15.9 million. The volunteer work is valued at 10.7 million and the direct investments in communities at 13.9 million (Katimavik, 2012, PDF). Don’t let party politics wreck this.

You can help save Katimavik. Write to your MP,  the Prime Minister, and Minister James Moore. Join the campaigns. Tell your Katimavik stories. Thank you.