By Carolyn Sloan

The Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

Canada’s Liberal leader Stéphane Dion wants to see the country’s highest turnout of young voters in the next federal election.

After a meeting with the region’s mayors and wardens earlier in the morning, the party leader visited Middleton Regional High School on March 26, entreating students of near voting age to be responsible citizens and to take their own future into their hands.

“In many countries…you have people risking their lives to ensure that it will be a democracy,” Dion told students. “Here in Canada, we enjoy the right to vote. We enjoy the democratic life.”

The afternoon visit was an opportunity for the Liberal leader to field questions from local youth. From the environment to immigration, the students seemed to have no reservations when it came to asking the tough questions. Of particular interest was the Liberal party’s stance on Canada’s mission in Afghanistan.

“My conviction is that most people in Afghanistan want us to stay to help,” Dion responded. “This being said…Canada cannot protect Afghanistan alone. We need to be part of a coalition of nations.”

The Liberal leader also emphasized the need for an end date for the mission, so as to prevent the Afghan people from becoming too dependent on foreign aid, and to allow Canada to turn its attention to other countries that need help. For the Liberals, he said, the end date would be 2011, and until that time, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should play a greater role in terms of security, training, and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

“We have to have clear benchmarks on what we will achieve,” noted Dion. “If we are to stay between 2009 and 2011, NATO must do much more.”

The Environment was another hot topic for the day, with questions from students regarding recycling and the Kyoto Accord. In response, Dion expressed concern about the current direction of the Conservative government is taking with regards to climate change.

“They don’t believe in Kyoto,” he argued. “They have been a laggard or saboteur…at the international level.”

As with the mission in Afghanistan, Dion emphasized the need for Canada to work cooperatively with other countries to bring about positive environmental change.

“The problem is greenhouse gas emissions don’t know any borders,” he explained. “Even though Canada is doing its share…we need to work with the other countries.”

In a press conference following the question and answer session with students, Dion also remarked on his earlier meeting with mayors and wardens from municipalities and villages across southwest Nova, noting the continuance of the Digby-St.John ferry service as the topmost concern to local governments.

“It’s certainly true that the ferry has been identified as the priority,” he said. “The idea that we may lose it in one year seems unacceptable.”