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Greater Victoria’s youngest politician wants to hear more young voices playing a role in local government.

Ned Taylor, a Saanich councillor who was elected at just 19, has been a vocal advocate for youth participating in local government.

“Young people clearly have the most to lose and to gain in decisions that are being made for the long term,” Taylor said in an interview.

He recently brought a motion to the Capital Regional District governance and finance committee asking that staff look at how to increase opportunities for youth to engage with the regional government.

At a meeting last week, the committee voted to direct staff to expand and enhance the CRD’s youth engagement approaches as part of a relatively new diversity and inclusion strategy. The motion will go to the CRD board for a final vote.

The CRD has brought in a consultant and work is underway on that broad strategy, but it’s not expected until next year.

“It’s really how do you ensure the organization and your processes reflect the diversity of your community, and is that community included and represented in what you do?” said CRD chief administrative officer Robert Lapham at the Nov. 4 meeting.

Youth will be folded into the broader diversity and inclusion strategy if the CRD board votes in support.

Taylor said there are limited opportunities for young people to learn how local government works and provide input on policy. With little in the school curriculum focused on government at the municipal and regional level, Taylor said he had to take initiative to learn outside the classroom.

“I took it upon myself to be going to events, to be researching about politics, to be keeping up-to-date with current issues,” he said.

Now, as an elected official, he wants to make it easier for other young people to find their way to local government.

“We need to be opening doors for young people to get involved, because this is their future that we’re making decisions for,” he said.

The CRD’s current engagement with youth mostly takes the form of in-school presentations on topics such as water conservation, regional parks and recycling. The CRD has also hired 63 summer students in parks and recreation roles over the past three years.

In Victoria, a youth council for those ages 14 to 24 offers young people a chance to learn about and engage with local government, and organize projects in the community.

The group, which changes every year and had about 19 people in the 2019/2020 cohort, can ask questions of Victoria council and advocate for new ideas through Coun. Sharmarke Dubow, who acts as a liaison. Mayor Lisa Helps and other councillors sometimes attend the youth council meetings, providing direct opportunity to ask questions and suggest ideas.

EJ Weston, co-ordinator of the City of Victoria Youth Council, said it’s important to work with youth, because they can bring a new perspective.

“I think any time we engage youth on these things, that can only make anything better,” Weston said.

regan-elliott@timescolonist.com