TORONTO — Individuals have never mattered as much as they do now, Justin Trudeau told a group of students at United Synagogue Day School (USDS) last Wednesday.
“If there are problems in the world, the problems are [caused] by years of little actions by individuals who weren’t thinking about the big picture,” the former prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s son told the students.
Trudeau, who will be running for the Liberal party in the Montreal Papineau riding in the next election, spoke about his childhood, the environment and children’s ability to affect the world.
“The decisions we make are extremely important,” he told a group of grades 5, 6, 7 and 8. “We don’t need you to be leaders of tomorrow. There’s something conditional to that– we need you to be leaders of today.”
Trudeau emphasized the importance of connecting with children, especially when it comes to helping the environment.
“The coming generations are aware of the breadth of the situation,” he said. “Take an example like recycling. It was started in a classroom. The students taught the parents and it spread.”
USDS is trying to teach its students the importance of environmentalism. According to Raquel Black, a USDS middle school teacher and incoming vice-principal, the school has integrated Earth-friendly concepts both in and out of the classroom.
“We’ve been concentrating a lot on recycling and the environment from junior kindergarten up to Grade 8. They learn about different parts of science, recycling, [alternative] energy and current events. This will become part of their future,” Black said.
Over the past two years, the school has been implementing various environmentally friendly policies. It has a no-paper policy, which encourages students to use e-mail when submitting assignments. Classrooms are equipped with smart boards to eliminate paper handouts.
“The school has a green team [made up of about 10 students]. They’re responsible for recycling and tree planting,” Black said. “If you take something away, you have to give it back. [Students] understand that not everything needs to be wasted.”
Trudeau also touched on this concept.
“For the environment, we need to start thinking very differently about how we operate as a society,” he said. “If a company pollutes streams and air, the company is making a profit off this. [They] calculate the value of a barrel of oil they sell, they don’t calculate the pollution [they create]. The Earth is something we have to care for.”
Trudeau, who is a former high school teacher, had no trouble connecting with the USDS students.
“You get away with a lot less with kids, [they’re] a lot tougher as an audience. You have to be real,” he said. “[Kids are] capable of understanding difficult concepts. You can challenge [them] to step up.”
During the question-and-answer period, questions ranging from the subjects of Tibet and poverty to Trudeau’s childhood were asked.
“Until I was 13, I was just the prime minister’s son. I got to travel a lot. By the time I was 13, I’d been to 50 countries,” he said.
“My parents tried to make sure I had an ordinary life. I took the school bus to school, but it was followed [by the RCMP]… I used to read Archie comics and [think], ‘It’d be so nice to have a normal life in Riverdale.’ I just wanted to be normal.”
The students were impressed by Trudeau’s speech.
“I thought it was inspiring. I like his ideas on the youth perspective,” Andi, a Grade 8 student, said.
Danielle, another Grade 8 student, said,“I really liked that he wasn’t telling us what to do. It was our choice – we have a choice to do what we want in the world.”
According to Trudeau, not everyone needs to become a politician to change the world.
“The way you connect to the world around you will define the way this world is when you’re older,” he told the students.
“Right now the decisions we make will have a huge impact on the future of this world. Each and everyone of us can become important and powerful.”
