By Lexi McFarlane, Times Chronicle

Oliver Council welcomed its inaugural Youth Councillors into the fold earlier this week marking the first time Oliver youth have been represented directly on Council.

The creation of Junior and Senior Youth Councillor positions occurred through a series of meetings in 2025, with their official establishment taking effect this year. At the Committee of the Whole (CoW) meeting on March 16, the appointments were officially recognized by Council.

Present at the meeting was incoming Senior Youth Councillor Nathaël Collerette-Reza, who took an oath of office at the start of the meeting.

Taking the position of Junior Youth Councillor is Dallas Crawford. Both are current students of South Okanagan Secondary School, though Collerette-Reza noted he is graduating this summer.

The nomination process ran from January 12 to February 6, and was open to students of South Okanagan Secondary School, or residing in SOSS’s catchment area. The selections of Collerette-Reza and Crawford were made on February 23.

As per the policy, which was officially adopted by Council on January 12, the Youth Councillor roles are volunteer positions, though the Senior Youth Councillor is awarded a $1,000 scholarship, and is sponsored by the Town to attend the BC Youth Parliament Session in Victoria.

Collerette-Reza said that the position interested him because of the service to the town that it would provide.

“I was interested (in becoming) a Senior Youth Councillor because of my commitment to my community, my continued involvement with volunteering activities, and community services,” Collerette-Reza said.

“I look forward to contributing through these meetings, and advocating for my peers, and the youth of Oliver.”

The term for the Youth Councillors will run until the end of June, when the school year comes to an end.

Councillor Petra Veintimilla showed appreciation for Collerette-Reza and Crawford filling the Youth Councillor roles, alluding to the fact it is a pretty big commitment.

“We expect very enlightening and poignant notes for every meeting from now until the end of June,” Veintimilla joked.