SPEAK UP FOR YOUTH DURING CAMPAIGN

What is the value of a young life? If your action could save a life,
would you do what needs to be done? These are questions that we all
need to consider as we prepare to elect those who will govern our
province over the next term.

Youth Speaks Up has been advocating on behalf of young people for many
years, and one issue which has been a central theme for the group is
drug and alcohol abuse in our society, particularly among our youth.
Youth Speaks Up believes there is a course of action which will
greatly curb this devastating abuse and we have consistently pushed
this concept before government, but our ideas have fallen on deaf
ears. We feel certain that if the general public joins with us,
government will be forced to listen to our youth and act.

One of the most important rites of passage for young people in our
society is to obtain a driver's licence. The sense of empowerment and
newfound freedom is almost unbelievable from a young person's
perspective. However, the statistics are brutally clear. Accidents,
highway deaths and devastating injuries involving drugs and/or alcohol
are all too common.

What can we do to change attitudes and help young people move away
from the drug culture which seems to be consuming many of them? The
government took the first step by introducing a graduated driver's
licence in 2004, which I had been promoting since 1965. In itself, it
is not enough. We are proposing our Youth Speaks Up On Drugs Plan as a
very positive step forward in saving young lives.

Over 12,000 students, teachers and administrators from across eastern
Nova Scotia have already expressed their firm support for our Merit
Plan to reduce drug abuse. Our plan would require that newly licensed
drivers (16 to 21 years old) be tested for non-prescription drug use.
If they are drug-free and drive for the first year with no
drug-related conviction, they would be subject to random testing over
the next four years, until age 21.

For those who are concerned about this plan and how it will be
interpreted under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, here are a few
things to consider. The first section of our Charter emphasized that
individual rights are not absolute but are, in fact, subject to
reasonable limits in a free and democratic society. Such limits are
usually designed to serve the collective best interests of society.
Laws regarding the use of seatbelts, the administration of the
breathalyzer and the Alert are examples of the type of limits we place
on individual freedoms.

Thousands of junior and senior high school students have already
stated their willingness to be tested. They know what is at stake. As
adults, we should be listening to our young people who have taken the
lead on this crucial societal issue.

Youth Speaks Up on Alcohol and Drug Abuse needs your help. We are
certain that lives will not only be saved, but that our society will
take a giant step towards curbing rampant drug abuse through
implementing this policy. We invite you to join with us and place this
issue before all candidates in this election. Working together, we can
help implement this positive change to give parents peace of mind,
restore a positive climate in our schools and save young lives. What
value do you place on a young life?

Jack Yazer, Sydney, is founder and spokesman for Youth Speaks Up.