WE ARE LISTENING

It’s one of those summer nights when the city feels serene and hospitable. Souls are drifting and the air is light. Next to the imposing council chamber in Montreal City Hall, children are eating chips and sipping from juice boxes. They’re enjoying a drink. They are tonight’s stars, and at the microphone a consultant yells “Montreal needs you!” to the children. The truth of her words soon becomes apparent after viewing a documentary by Patrick Péris.

For 56 minutes, 82 children from every corner of Montreal, aged 7 to 17, speak to the camera about democracy, the environment, school, friendship and new technologies. The depth of their knowledge and foresight is disconcerting. They seem to have grasped everything. They understand that previous generations are responsible for the increasing strain on their playground (our living spaces) to the point of threatening its very existence. They understand that democracy is an illusion. They understand that man is wolf to man.

They are also full of ideas.

One of them suggests we ban smoking on Wednesdays.

Another thinks we should wake up later to enjoy “longer dreams”.

One child believes we should use sheep instead of lawnmowers in our green spaces.

There is talk of flying cars, and of trash being automatically transported to waste bins.

Montrealers are obsessed with the peaceful coexistence of our communities, and with discrimination and racism. They say “Montreal schools are very multiethnic, yet there is still so much racism”, or “If we enforce a charter of values on immigrants, they will feel dispossessed and incapable of opening up”. Their clarity and fatalism about cellphone addiction (both others’ and their own), for example, are striking.

They are aware of tax evasion.

They are aware of the decrease in hours allotted to special education.

They are aware of climate change and our dependency on oil.

The chilling words of a smiling young girl resonate: “We’re lucky that we’re still on Earth.”

They have noticed that Montreal is a constellation of orange cones and potholes, closed streets and traffic jams. They don’t understand why construction never ends. Yet in the midst of this sea of knowledge and clarity, bright smiles and hopes for the future shine through. The oldest call for the “power of the people”, the “reform of our electoral system”, a “constituent assembly”.

As we listen to them share their insights, we start to dream of fast-forwarding into the future, seeing these children at the helm of our city.