![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\n\u201cI feel like some people\u2019s voices that are the least heard are youth voices,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople don\u2019t really want them to be in adult spaces where they can give their opinions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
To address that gap, Bonney became involved with the Student Commission of Canada (SCC), a national non-profit organization focused on youth engagement and advocacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey really do everything, but it\u2019s mainly to help youth be a part of society.\u201d<\/p>\n
Madin Hoey, a Grade 11 student from Wesmor, said he was invited to be part of the SCC and had no hesitation in joining. <\/p>\n
\u201cI really wanted to be a part of this because I like how we can get feedback from the public and how the city of Prince Albert can help and adapt and create the Prince Albert we want,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Hoey and Bonney took part in a youth engagement event Friday at Gateway Mall, organized through a partnership between the City of Prince Albert and the SCC, said Anna Dinsdale, Community Safety and Well-being Manager for the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has been mainly led by that group of youth who are hoping that we can get a much broader range of feedback from youth across Prince Albert,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is just an initial event to try and gather feedback from youth across P.A. rather than just a narrow group.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bonney said she and other members of the Prince Albert chapter worked alongside city officials to organize the event and develop discussion questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really a group effort to think of all the questions and collaborate with the City of Prince Albert to put it on,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Dinsdale, the feedback gathered during the event will be reviewed and shared across multiple civic departments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all work with the youth who have co-designed this event and the Students Commission of Canada to collect and gather that feedback in themes,\u201d Dinsdale said. \u201cThat feedback will be provided across departments because there are questions that relate to lots of different areas.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Youth organizers are also expected to bring their concerns directly to city council in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re really asking for some formalization of youth voice,\u201d Dinsdale said. \u201cWhat we really recognize is that we need to amplify the voice of youth in our community and understand the feedback they have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said council is expected to review the recommendations and potentially work with youth organizers to develop a more permanent structure for youth engagement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third spaces<\/p>\n
Among the concerns raised by participants was the lack of \u201cthird spaces\u201d \u2014 public places outside of school, work or home where people can gather freely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLots of those spaces are not there anymore or you have to pay to be in there,\u201d Bonney said. \u201cThere\u2019s not a lot of places other than school or work to just be a youth or be a person.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She pointed to restaurants and coffee shops as examples of spaces that are often inaccessible for young people who cannot afford to stay long-term.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople go to somewhere like Tim Hortons to study, but there\u2019s a 30-minute wait time and then they get kicked out,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Employment issues<\/p>\n
In Madin\u2019s view, employment is the single biggest issue young Prince Albert residents are facing. <\/p>\n
\u201cI find it\u2019s really important for youth to find employment and a job and a career,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Hoey works at Creeland Mini Mart, a job he loves, but before getting that position, he applied at multiple other places and never got a response. Chain companies that used to be reliable sources of employment for youth now only take applications on their website. The applicant first answers a series of questions from the site\u2019s AI bot and then waits to hear back \u2013 or not. <\/p>\n
Transportation issues <\/p>\n
Bonney also highlighted concerns about transportation and pedestrian infrastructure in Prince Albert, describing the city as difficult to navigate without a vehicle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPrince Albert is not really a walkable city, especially for how small it is,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She noted that some neighbourhoods still lack sidewalks, forcing residents to walk on roads, particularly during winter months when snow-covered pathways can make travel difficult.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it is snowy, sidewalks aren\u2019t really plowed down most of the time, so it\u2019s hard to get to bus stops,\u201d Bonney said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dinsdale said the city recognizes that youth rely heavily on sidewalks and public transit, particularly during winter conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo often when we think about pathways and sidewalks with snow, we think about seniors or people with mobility concerns walking around the city,\u201d Dinsdale said. \u201cBut actually students walk around our city and access transit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Bonney said conditions are beginning to improve, she believes more work is needed to ensure residents across the city can easily access essential services.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Bonney hopes youth engagement initiatives continue beyond a single event.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just really hoping that youth events like these aren\u2019t just a one-time thing,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2014<\/p>\n
susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI feel like some people\u2019s voices that are the least heard are youth voices,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople don\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":657610,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-657609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=657609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657609\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/657610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=657609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=657609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=657609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}