But to Dave Forestell, a 25-year-old law student at the University of Western Ontario and former president of the Ontario PC Youth, a youth wing is no sandbox. It's a training ground.
"On the PC side, there's a long tradition of that — people like Brian Mulroney, Bill Davis, Tony Clement, John Tory, all were in PC youth wings."
"I just cannot see the detriment in having a purely volunteer organization there to assist the party."
A training ground for what? What do 20 year olds need special training that someone else that's new to politics doesn't need? That's the detriment that a youth wing seems to bring. It's condescending to think that people my own age have jobs, are married, pay taxes, but if they join a political party they have to be "trained."
If the aim is to have a purely volunteer organization that's different. But a full fledged youth wing has youth riding associations, a president, it's like a party within a party. I'm not part of a special interest group. I don't want any special treatment.
Propose a youth wing that is solely volunteer in nature and that doesn't denigrate the position of youth in the party and I'll vote for it.
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