A group of about 40 people are expected to converge outside Tri-City MP James Moore's office on Monday to protest the elimination of the Katimavik program.
Moore, who is the Conservative MP for Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, slashed funding for the youth initiative as Canadian Heritage minister, citing its $14-million annual price tag. The move was announced in the federal budget on March 29.
Victoria resident and Katimavik alumni Edward Pullman told The Tri-City News that "it will be very difficult to change the government's decision but we believe it was done for ideological reasons. We want to raise awareness and put pressure on his office to change what's happened."
Last year, volunteers of Katimavik - Inuktitut for "meeting place" - logged half a million hours in vulnerable communities, including in Maillardville. Since it started in 1977 under then prime minister Pierre Trudeau, more than 30,000 young people have taken part.
The protest, which will include Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island residents - some of whom are Katimavik alumni - is scheduled for noon on April 23 at Moore's constituency office on St. Johns Street in Port Moody. In Ottawa, a parallel protest will also happen.
