There are Fall issues of Our Times, a dry Canadian Labour magazine, but the summer issue dedicated to Youth and Unions seemed particularly appropriate to comment on. This issue had more feeling to it than the past issues. It really tried to reach out to people who were not already committed to the ideals of Our Times. While it was still heavy on the dogma of the institutional left, this issue was a little more thought provoking in its attempts to prove that 1) there are young activists 2) young people just need a little more experience and they will all join unions 3)without exposure to the wisdom of the middle-aged unions, the Canadian labour movement will be non-existent and we will all suffer for it. Of course what is really at issue is how the institutional activists perceive young people who speak for themselves through means other than protests and petitions. Our Times needs to go beyond its own assumptions and ask how these young people can be reached, and what it is about officially joining the labour movement that might not resonate so well with younger generations. I guess I liked this issue more for what they tried to do than what they did. And what they did was insert youth into their pre- programmed conception of how Canada should be, without bothering to ask why.
magazine / publisher: Our Times Publishing / main creator: Lorraine Endicott (editor) / $4, $20 / 390 Dufferin St., Toronto, ON, M6K 2A3