Erin Mills MP Iqra Khalid visits high schools in November

In the month of November, Iqra Khalid, the Member of Parliament of the Erin Mills riding in Mississauga, visited several high schools in her district to speak to the students. Minister Khalid’s main goal with these visits was to empower the youth of Mississauga. She accomplished this by speaking on a variety of topics including; her personal life experiences, her journey to Parliament, and concerns of Mississauga high school students.
To start her presentation, Minister Khalid touched on why she chose to go into politics and what choices she had made in her life to lead her to where she is today. She also spoke about how she found her place in the Liberal party and what the party means to her as a young, woman of colour in Canada, who also happens to be an immigrant. By doing so, she made it very clear that she is someone who prides herself on being the voice of the residents of her riding and will always strive to do all she can to voice their concerns and opinions in Parliament. 

During the questions portion of her presentation, Minister Khalid addressed many of the issues Mississauga teens face. She specifically spoke about what the city is doing to become more environmentally sustainable, and spoke of action plans the city has put together to combat the growing force of greenhouse gas emissions. She additionally spoke about what she is doing to help keep the city safe and violence-free for residents. 

Though she discussed several topics, the running theme through Minister Khalid’s presentation was the power of the youth of Mississauga. Through everything she talked about she was constantly encouraging and inspiring young people to get involved in their community through volunteering and engagement. She specifically promoted the Youth Council Committee. This program acts as a board where young people throughout the city can get together to discuss and troubleshoot the concerns and issues of their peers. In addition, the Youth Council strives to make it easier for young Canadians to have their voice be heard, while encouraging healthy discussions about problems that face the young people of today. 

Overall, once the presentation was finished it was clear that MP Khalid had made her point in a way that not only invoked hope for the future of the city, but also, curiosity – leaving several students wishing to stay back to speak with her personally. All of the schools and their students have thanked Minister Khalid for taking time out of her day to visit their school, and for her help on giving a voice to those who are rarely heard in the community, the youth.