Ottawa

How to celebrate our 150th?

We could build a couple NHL arenas. Or we could lower the voting age, institute mandatory voting and reopen the Constitution.

Canada’s 150th birthday bash in 2017 could highlight the fun and symbolic — such as a nationwide hockey tournament and a cross-country canoe pageant — but could also involve serious policy changes, such as lowering the voting age to 16 or instituting mandatory voting, newly obtained public documents show…

Bureaucrats reckon 2017 could be an opportunity to reopen debate on Canadian federalism. “This discussion has been held for boomers (in the ’80s and ’90s), but it’s not closed yet,” officials write. “By 2017, a whole new generation will have a whole new outlook.” Jeremy Diamond, director of the Historica Dominion Institute, expressed support for democratic reform initiatives. He said the 18-24 age range is ripe for increased political participation, and that Canada’s 150th could be an ideal time to restart the constitution debate.

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