2001 Census Reveals Modern Face of Canada’s

Youth, Schools

JJ McCullough, OP Editor

A series of reports released by Statistics Canada last week reveal that the lifestyles of Canada’s youth have changed dramatically over the last few decades, with bold new trends emerging in rates of marriage, education, and employment.

Canada’s current young adult population—defined as those between the ages of 20 to 24—is currently estimated to be just over 2 million, or about 6% of the nation, while the total under 30 population stands at 16 million, or about 48%. Despite the strong presence, the new numbers reveal that, per capita, Canada is getting older as a nation overall, with the size of elderly communities climbing fast. The average Canadian is now 39 years old, an age that has steadily increased for the last five decades.

Lifestyle trends between young and old were revealed to be predictably divergent, with over 35% of youths living in metropolitan areas, while only 27% lived in rural communities. The middle ground, in the form of suburban areas, continue to remain the most popular residences for Canadians of all ages.

StatsCan’s most talked about results, however, centered around marked

trends in youth lifestyles. According to 2001 numbers, 36% of all Canadians in the 18 to 34 age bracket still live with their parents, while only 26% are married. This is a marked difference to the trends of 30 years ago, in which a whopping 57% were married and only 28% lived with their parents. The rate of childlessness has also dramatically increased, with only 25% of young adults —either married or unmarried — having children by age 34, down from a number conservatively estimated at 42% in 1971.

Career-wise, on average, about 45% of Canadians in their mid 20’s will have a full time job, a number that is slightly up since 1971. The results are largely skewed by gender differences, however. Female employment has steadily increased since the mid 20° Century, while the once traditional male dominance of the working world has declined in conjunction.

Women have also made steady inroads in the field of post-secondary education, the reports indicate. Though the vast majority of Canadians still do not attend university, of those who do 58% are women while only 42% are men. Of those students, in turn, the female rate of graduation is 70%, while men linger at 60%.

Arrest of American Anti-War Activist Attracts Attention

JJ McCullough, OP Editor

A seemingly arbitrary arrest has made 22-year-old American activist Alison Bodine an overnight celebrity in the province’s left-wing circles, as numerous groups across BC have sprung to the defense of the embattled anti-war protestor.

Though few hard details of her case are currently known, the present controversy surrounds Bondie’s September 13 attempt to cross the border back into the United States after a brief stay in Vancouver. While stopping at a customs office to pick up some belongings — described as “political materials and other items” —that had been previously seized at the border on her way in, Bondie was unexpectedly arrested by the RMCP. She was then detained in a Surrey prison, and briefly at Vancouver International Airport, for a total of 17 hours before being released on the night of September 14. Since then, Bondie has been in a state of considerable legal limbo. Though still in BC, she is without a passport and identity papers, and a scheduled admissibility hearing with a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada was abruptly cancelled.

It remains unclear what specific charges will be levied against Bodine when her hearing is officially rescheduled. Though she was arrested with an immigration warrant, this is a broad category that can be used to detain individuals for a variety of causes, including security risk, identity misrepresentation, and criminal suspicion. Bodine, for her part, has claimed ignorance of the matter, and immigration officials do not release public comments on specific cases.

In the meantime, Bodine’s cause has been enthusiastically embraced by Mobilization Against War and Occupation (MAWO), a Vancouver- based, far-left protest group to which

Bodine herself has been a longtime supporter. A number of rallies have so far been held on her behalf, with MAWO activists arguing Bodine was “unjustly arrested” for her anti-war political views.

MAWO activists have been likewise quick to accuse border guards of plotting a conspiracy, and characterized the cancellation of Bodine’s admissibility hearing as “a maneuver to delay because they know they won’t be able to prove the charges they have made up so far.” Immigration Review Board officials have in turn disputed that assessment. Speaking in 24 Hours, spokeswoman Melissa Anderson claimed rescheduling of such hearings is common.

At their September 19 board meeting, the Representative Committee of the Douglas Students Union voted unanimously to support Bodine in her plight, and denouncing her arrest. In doing so they join the chorus of a number of progressive organizations across BC, including the BC Civil Liberties Union, the Hospital Employees Union, and NDP MPs Bill Siksay and Libby Davies.