Quebec MP's Katimavik campaign comes to Maritimes

A New Democratic Party MP from Quebec is touring the Maritimes this week as part of her campaign to save the youth volunteer program Katimavik.

The federal Conservatives cancelled the 35-year-old program in the March budget.

Charmaine Borg says she is doing everything possible to try to convince Ottawa to reverse the decision.

That includes gathering names across the country for a petition asking that Katimavik be reinstated.

Borg met with groups Wednesday that have had Katimavik volunteers on P.E.I., and with others who want to join her fight.

"As a young member of parliament, I made it my goal to defend youth in parliament and this is a program that a lot of my peers have done, a lot of my close friends, relatives have done in the past," the 21-year-old Borg said.

"I've really been able to see directly the change that it made of their lives, and for me after this program got cut, I started getting calls from youth across Canada and from my friends and I felt like I needed to do something and to me this program is worth so much and it costs so little."

She said she is presenting testimonials and petitions on this and will be debating the issue with the minister on Sept. 18.

"To me there is no good reason to justify cutting it," Borg said.

Borg was in P.E.I. yesterday, heads to Saint John today, Fredericton tomorrow and Halifax on Saturday.

The federal government says cutting the program will save $14 million to $15 million a year.