Concerns have been raised about the lack of political engagement of Canadian youth. During the federal election, voting flash mobs at Canadian universities were seen as a way to get young voters excited and eager to vote.

Unfortunately, most efforts to engage youth have been initiated by groups and organizations that I feel do not reflect the ethno-cultural diversity of Canada's major cities. As an activist in Ottawa's Muslim communities who is passionate about civic engagement, I wanted to take a lead in addressing what I've seen as a lack of engagement among young Muslims of voting age.

To mark the "International Day for the Eradication of Poverty," members of the Colour of Poverty Campaign -- Colour of Change Network (COP/C) from various parts of Ontario -- held a press conference earlier this month to call on all levels of Canadian government to help eradicate poverty in Ontario and Canada.

The group has many concerns about the "invisibility of racialized poverty" and the lack of attention to these issues in the media in Toronto and GTA's upcoming municipal elections.

A month ago, thousands of chanting voices echoed between downtown towers in the core of Canada's largest city, with people reclaiming the streets, facing down thousands of armed police -- a dignified challenge to the closed-door G20 summit.

Brightly coloured protest flags flew in the summer winds, people confronted a billion-dollar security machine aimed at stifling dissent. Behind multilayered razor security walls, far away from street protests, technocrats crafted global policy in an armed fortress at a distance from public accountability or media scrutiny.