MYAC's History

The Mayor's Youth Advisory Committee was founded in 1982 by Mayor Hazel McCallion as a fulfillment of an election promise. It started as an organization that met periodically with the Mayor to express youth suggestions and concerns. The first Chair was James Lynn, a student at Erindale S.S.

In the mid-1980s, MYAC started to assist with various community projects. It began to tackle new issues such as Sunday shopping and a redesign of the Transhelp system.

By the early 1990s, MYAC had further evolved and was holding several student conferences. In 1992, the newspaper, CityWide Youth, was started.

MYAC really took off in 1993. It explored such issues as employment equity, police services and education, revived the Mississauga Young Citizen of the Year Award, and begun planning for the incredibly successful Decisions '94: Youth For A Better Tomorrow Conference. A task force on youth tobacco use was launched, a recognition certificate program was initiated, CityWide Youth was improved, the Celebrity Stacks project, which was originally initiated in 1991, was revived. In 1995, the committee also held an essay contest, launched a campaign to request Canada Post to issue a stamp honouring the youth of Canada, started work on "A Student's Handbook to Crime Prevention in Mississauga", began coordinating Canadian Unity Day for the City of Mississauga, appointed representatives to over a dozen local organizations, began a MYAC television segment on Get Real and much more. Also, MYAC successfully organized a GTA-wide student summit, Decisions '96: Voice of Youth Conference.

In 1998 and 1999, MYAC formed a coalition with the Living Arts Center called LACYAC, to help make the LAC a better place for youth. The Committee also organized the soon-to-be annual Senior-Youth Festival with the Older Adults Center and hosted the Mayor's Youth Advisory Committee Symposium on Youth Issues and Violence. Mississauga Youth Week soon became one of MYAC's chief projects. Mississauga Youth Week, a festival held annually in May, celebrates the spirit of youth by encouraging volunteerism, recognizing young people's achievements and holding fun events. Youth Week expands each year, with such events as the Mississauga Youth Achievement Awards, the Meet the Future Summit, and Road Rush: Ride the Bus! In 2002, MYAC decided to refocus on what it really was - an Advisory Committee - and started doing monthly debates on issues concerning youth.  As well, the Ambassador's Program, with students acting as liaisons between MYAC and their school, was revived. 

Many of Mississauga's residents now recognize the Mayor's Youth Advisory Committee as Mississauga's foremost organization for youth and the best opportunity for students to make an impact in their community. 

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