Jade Rooney, a candidate for president of the Provincial Métis Youth Council for Métis Nation–Saskatchewan. (Jade Rooney/Facebook)

By Ian Gustafson

new candidate

Candidate for president of the Provincial Métis Youth Council plans to help food security

Oct 26, 2021 | 8:00 AM

With the election for president of the Provincial Métis Youth Council for Métis Nation–Saskatchewan right around the corner another candidate is throwing his hat in the ring.

Jade Rooney, who grew up in Yellow Grass, Sask. works as a powder coater and a part time trapper involved with the Saskatchewan Trapper’s Association.

Within his platform for his candidacy, he said he has three pillars he is focusing on with the first being food security.

“As we’ve seen throughout this pandemic, we’ve seen shortages of various things. We’ve seen rising inflation especially in the grocery store when it comes to meat and that type of thing,” he explained, adding he also wants to bring hunter education programs and a buffalo meat procurement plan to the Métis.

The next major pillar is introducing a graduate Métis sash program, which he described as a culturally significant article of clothing he hopes to present all graduates with when they cross the stage as a welcome to adulthood.

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He also wants to create a variety of traditionally significant courses and programs they can offer Métis youth for engagement and skill development.

“I know for myself personally through this pandemic and not being able to socialize and see people it was really quite a good thing for my mental health to be out in the bush, out in the woods doing some trapping, doing some hunting, just kind of getting off the screens and off the phone and stuff which I do think is an issue for our youth and it’s an issue for mental health for all of us.”

Rooney said he has created his own Facebook page as well as reached out to his voters ahead of the election. Advance voting will be on Friday, Nov. 5, and election day is Saturday, Nov. 6.

“I just want to encourage everybody to go vote whether for me or otherwise,” he said. “I know that if we look at the demographics of voter turn out in any election young people are always historically the least represented and they have the lowest turnout voter turnout rate. If any of the other candidates have a policy or platform that you like, I encourage everybody to get out there and vote and exercise a right we have in this country that not a lot of other people do across the world.”

–

-With files from Derek Craddock

Ian.Gustafson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @IanGustafson12