COMPETITIVE DEBATE AND PUBLIC SPEAKING UPDATE

As we approach the winter break, one would think that debate and public speaking would also begin winding down; however, debate and public speaking opportunities were abundant in late November through to last weekend. 
 
At the junior level, Lucy, Leela, Ryleigh, Chenyu, Emily, and Rana were very busy developing arguments supporting and opposing the establishment of “right to fix” laws in Canada. In the tournament, hosted by Lower Canada College on December 4, 2021, the partnerships examined the harms and benefits of allowing third party and homeowner repair of devices, including if repair could reduce our human impact on the environment, inspire innovation, limit economic growth for large businesses, and facilitate economic growth for small repair companies. 
 
After two rounds of prepared debate, the competitors debated the motions, “This house would ban eating contests,” and “This house supports breaking the law to protect the environment or diminish climate change.” With a wide range of topics possible at impromptu tournaments, you never know what to expect, and our debaters always embrace the challenge. Also impressive were the numbers of competitors who remained following their four main rounds to learn from and support the teams in the final, who debated, “This house would require anyone on parole or bail to be electronically monitored.” 
 
At the senior level, we would like to congratulate Asmara and Janet for representing Manitoba at Senior British Parliamentary Debate National Championships. Their participation at the senior national level will hopefully be one of many more rounds they will qualify to attend in the future. Their six motions debated from November 19–21, 2021, were extremely challenging with the following preliminary motions: 

• Round 1 — This house would make all workers legally entitled to profit sharing, whereas the employees are entitled to a share of the profits made by a company.
• Round 2 — This house would require major polluters to open their borders to environmental refugees. 
• Round 3 — This house believes that AI will do more harm than good. 
• Round 4 — The government should fund universal free childcare centres in the same way that the government funds schools.
• Round 5 — This house would allow legislation through binding voter-initiated referenda.
• Round 6 — This house believes that governments should prioritize policies that reduce social inequality over economic growth.