The Prince Edward Island Student Debating Association (PEISDA) was honoured to host the 2022 National Debating Seminar in the birthplace of Confederation, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island online from  September 22 – 25, 2022.

The theme was Confederation: Understanding Our Past & Charting Our Future!

Tom Lawson, CSDF/National Seminar Founder has consistently and constantly given that invitation and challenge to students to choose to be citizens not just consumers.  Our task as Canadians is to not be simply bankers of historical knowledge but investors in a collective path forward for our community, our province/territory, and our country. The focus of the Seminar is to foster in young Canadians across the country a self-knowledge and confidence to engage in critical conversations that impact our nation.  We believe that dialogue among young people is paramount to facilitate a better understanding of the issues and challenges in our country.  The Prince Edward Island Student Debate Association aims to work with youth to create better citizens and future leaders through speech and debate. As an organization, we strive to instill skills of critical thinking, effective communication, and global citizenship. As informed students and citizens of our country, young people make a difference by addressing perspectives and proposing solutions to challenges we face in our communities and across our world each and every time they debate.

Prepared resolution was: This house believes the Canadian government must admit its past failures in order to prepare for an innovative future. 

Seminar participants were provided material and assignments to research and study to prepare for the Seminar Experience. The goal was to use as many digital mediums as possible to reduce our paper usage and to be cognizant of our environmental footprint.

Here were the recommended links  for research purposes:

Articles related to the Confederation and Reconciliation
Prince Edward Island and Confederation 1863-1873 -Francis William Pius BOLGER, Ph.D.
https://umanitoba.ca/colleges/st_pauls/ccha/Back%20Issues/CCHA1961/Bolger.pdf

Why it’s called Confederation Bridge — and why the push to rename it isn’t surprising https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-confederation-bridge-epekwitk-crossing-history-1.6437729

Renaming Confederation Bridge could play ‘role in reconciliation,’ says federal minister https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-confederation-bridge-renaming-tassi-1.6446556

Confederation of Tomorrow 2021 survey results (short form online) https://centre.irpp.org/confederation-of-tomorrow-2021/

Resources related to PEI economic development.

Honibe facility expansion a win for PEI, Canadian health
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/honibe-facility-expansion-win-pei-174500235.html

PEI Rocks Wind Power with highest integration in North America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdQuzmOV0IA

Aerospace Growing on Prince Edward Island https://www.wingsmagazine.com/aerospace-growing-on-prince-edward-island-685/

2022 SEMINAR AWARD WINNERS

Tom Lawson Awards: Awarded to the students who best embodied the spirit of the seminar.

• Emily Cheng (ON)  &  Joshua Himmens (AB)

Richard Picotin Award: Awarded to the student who best embodied the spirit of bilingualism.

• Juliette Allard (QC)

Speaker’s Citation: Awarded to the top Parliamentarians in English, French and Bilingual:

• Riley Boyd (En)           
• Aubrie Chan (Fr)
• Khushi Saini (Bi)

Top Speakers for each Linguistic Category:

• Weadon Trophy (English) –Afrukhta Siddique (SK)
• Governor General Award (French) – Benjamin Daoust (QC-ADDEQ)-
• Chief Justice Award (Bilingual) –Zohal Aryn-Ciyear (BC)

Founder’s Cup: Awarded to the top speaker from each Provincial/Territory Member present.

• Alberta – Vanessa Chapman 
• British Columbia –Zohal Aryn-Ciyear
• Manitoba –Eleni Ginakes
• New Brunswick –Shivani Shukla
• Newfoundland & Labrador – Tanish Bhatt
• Nova Scotia – Riley Boyd
• Northwest Territory – Teresa Martin
• Ontario –Aubrie Chan
• Prince Edward – *** Hurricane Fiona prevented PEI Students from Participating in the Debate Tournament.
• Quebec – ADDEQ –Juliette Allard & Benjamin Daoust
• Quebec – QSDA –Eva Fahmy
• Saskatchewan –Afrukhta Siddique

The CSDF Board could not provide such a unique experience for students and chaperones without the generous support of our sponsors.

ANNUAL MAJOR SPONSORS TO OUR NATIONAL SEMINARS

The McLeese Family is our partner in growing Debate Programs across Canada. We gratefully acknowledge their continued support!

As with previous Seminars, the CSDF received a grant from the Government of Canada’s Youth Forums program. These funds ensured that were able to continue our work by putting on an educational seminar by bringing together youth from across our country to discuss pertinent topics.

2022 NATIONAL SEMINAR SPONSORS

Gold ($1000.00 to $5000.00)

Silver ($250.00 to $1000.00)

Bronze (up to $250.00)