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British Columbia Youth Parliament


The British Columbia Youth Parliament (BCYP) is a youth service organization that operates in the guise of a "parliament" in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The BCYP fulfills its motto of "Youth Serving Youth" by means of "legislation" enacting community service projects and other youth-oriented activities. The BCYP is the successor to the Older Boys' Parliament of British Columbia, which first met in 1924.

Each year between December 27–31, youth aged 16 to 21 from across British Columbia gather in the Legislative Chambers of the B.C. Parliament Buildings in the capital city of Victoria for the BCYP annual session. Members sit as independents (i.e., they do not represent any political party) and vote according to their individual conscience on all issues. They learn about parliamentary process, debate topics of interest, and plan numerous activities for the upcoming year. Proposed activities, usually in the form of community service projects, are presented in the form of government bills; once passed they must be put into effect. This model differs from most other model (or "mock") youth parliaments in Canada; legislation passed by the membership is enacted by the organization through volunteer work in the community.

During the sittings of the BCYP during its December session, members of the BCYP (usually backbenchers) are given the opportunity to present "Private Members' Resolutions" (PMRs) for debate. These are usually on topics related to current events or other issues important to members and usually contain a provision for communicating the decision of the BCYP on that topic to the actual governmental authorities or other parties responsible for those issues. On occasion, a PMR on a whimsical topic is introduced.


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