Meet the 14-year-old who got a standing ovation for his LRT speech to council
Matthew Carrabs wanted to make sure spoke properly and wasn't rude
Matthew Carrabs isn't your typical transit activist. But lately, between homework assignments and extra-curricular activities, that's been his new-found role.
I had to speak in a proper manner and in no way in my speech could I harm them or be rude to them.- Matthew Carrabs
His mom approves his Facebook posts. He has an adult co-pilot for organizational and moral support.
But Carrabs, a 14-year-old eighth grader from Winona, has formed an advocacy group called "Yes to LRT in Hamilton." And he wants to influence the conversation.
"If I want to choose high schools, then I list the pros and cons of one and the pros and cons of the other one," he said.
He'd like city councillors to do the same with LRT.
Last week, his passion bought him to Hamilton city hall where he was among more than three dozen people who spoke out about the project. His speech earned him a standing ovation.
"It was very nerve wracking," he said of the speech. "I knew there was not just the audience, but councillors there, and I had to speak in a proper manner and in no way in my speech could I harm them or be rude to them."
Mayor Fred Eisenberger wrote him a note excusing his absence from school.
Being 14, he said, gives him a unique perspective on issues that impact the environment. He sees LRT as one of them. "The future is what we need to worry about."
Carrabs — who is also a singer, dancer and actor — got interested in LRT a couple of years ago. He started a Facebook page earlier this year when he heard some councillors oppose the project.
He called on Doug Caldwell, a Stoney Creek actor and one-time co-star in a Hamilton Theatre Inc. performance, to help him with the project.
He has crowd-funded $700 so far for pens, T-shirts and other pro-LRT swag. He plans to set up an information table at a Stoney Creek supermarket this week.
Sam Merulla, a Ward 4 councillor in favour of LRT, says the city needs all the help it can get. Using the Twitter hashtag #gangof10 (since morphed to #gangof10hamont), he's warned that 10 of Hamilton's 16 council members are against the project.
Merulla sees a practical benefit to Carrabs's generation that has nothing to do with transit.
Hamilton has a $3 billion infrastructure deficit — a shortfall that means crumbling roads, bridges and sewers for generations, he said.
After administrative costs, 80 per cent of the LRT budget — the province is providing $1 billion — will fix infrastructure such as roads, water lines, gas lines and bridges along the route from McMaster University to the Queenston traffic circle.
Rejecting that would be "a betrayal," he said.
"Every single time I mention that to people, they say 'I didn't know that,'" he said. "We need that messaging out there."
Metrolinx is building the system. In 2015, the city established a joint office with the agency to implement the project. Officials say the city has already spent as much as $70 million on planning it. Construction is due to start in 2019, with the system launching in 2024.
Many councillors are still skeptical though, worrying about impacts on traffic and what annual operating costs will mean for local tax bills, among other concerns.