Today I am sharing my space with a brilliant young writer and public speaker, Mireia Ariana “Mia” Amba Cuenca, 17, a second-generation Filipino-Canadian immigrant. She is graduating from the International Baccalaureate Program at Semiahmoo Secondary School in Surrey, British Columbia in 2026.
Full disclosure: I am related to her as she is my cousin’s daughter and the grandniece of former Justice Secretary and Labor Secretary Silvestre “Bebot” H. Bello III. I mention this partly as a proud aunt and also because she talks about what the rule of law means to her, a subject that is close to her Lolo Bebot’s heart. She deserves the space because her ideas need to reach other young people like her, especially here in the Philippines.
Mia’s essay is a speech she wrote and delivered at the 2025 Barry Sullivan Law Cup organized by the Canadian Bar Association (British Columbia). She placed third (3rd) out of 45 students who competed. This is a province-wide public speaking competition for high school students as “a platform to explore and express their perspectives on legal matters.” The competition not only “hones their oratory skills but also encourages critical thinking and engagement with legal concepts.”
With so many depressing news about young people losing hope and struggling to find meaning in their lives, Mia’s voice gives us an inspiring glimpse of what the new generation of leaders are thinking and the different, much better future they can be making.
This was first published by Reyfort Media (reyfortmedia.com), a news and information website featuring Filipinos in Canada.
The Rule Of Law In Our Lives: From Garbage To Governance
Taking out the trash. At first, it seems like just a trivial chore. We wheel our bins to the curb, few of us thinking beyond that moment. Yet, this simple act goes further than that. It is the expression of a deeper principle: that society functions because individuals follow rules, for a collective good. To me, the rule of law is precisely that: a shared commitment to live within a system of rules, where obligations are clear, and fairness is enforceable. But the rule of law is not self-executing. It exists only when we uphold it. And in this time of global instability, our role has never been more important. Through something as seemingly mundane as trash, we can trace the power, and fragility, of the rule of law.
Municipal: Starting locally, in my hometown of Surrey, bylaws dictate how we manage our waste. Bylaw No.18412 tells us what to sort, where to place it, and when to bring it out. This may seem minor, even bureaucratic. But these laws have gravity. They protect health, preserve public spaces, and present shared objectives. When we choose not to follow them, the rule of law begins to erode. That erosion becomes visible in the 2014 BC Supreme Court case of Churcher v. Richards. In this case, an individual burned garbage illegally in their backyard, creating noxious smoke that affected neighbouring homeowners and violated waste management rules. The court upheld charges, affirming that individual convenience does not override collective responsibility. This case also reveals something deeper: the rule of law does not only provide consequences for actions and inactions that cause harm but also compels us to act for the common good.
Provincial/Federal: Waste is not just a local issue. Its regulation involves overlapping provincial and federal frameworks. British Columbia’s Environmental Management Act governs how landfills are operated, industrial waste is processed, and pollution is mitigated. Federally, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act sets standards for toxic waste and transboundary shipments. These laws are intended to ensure that environmental conservation is maintained. Yet laws are only as strong as their enforcement, and their accessibility. In 2024, the Chiefs of Ontario filed a lawsuit against the federal and provincial governments, citing failures to provide access to justice. Among the key issues? Inadequate waste management in Indigenous communities: left without clean water, plagued by illegal dumping, and burdened by contamination, because legal protections went unenforced. This is a profound failure of the rule of law. When laws exist but are not applied equally, they lose their meaning. And that, too, is a choice. The rule of law depends not just on statutes, but on the equal application by government agencies.
International: The rule of law and our obligations under it, extend beyond our borders. Under the Basel Convention, an international treaty ratified by Canada in 1992, countries are required to give “prior informed consent” before waste shipments arrive. Between 2013 and 2014, Canada sent over 100 shipping containers to the Philippines, labeled as recyclable plastic. Instead, they contained rotting household and medical waste, in clear violation of the Basel Convention. The containers sat in Manila’s port for years, sparking international outrage. Six years later, after diplomatic pressure and a threat of retaliation from the Philippines, Canada finally retrieved the waste. The incident exposed a dangerous truth: when oversight fails and legal commitments are ignored, even wealthy democracies, like Canada, can undermine the rule of law abroad. Once again, it came to choice: to cut corners but later make it right.
Global Trends: This event highlighted how fragile the rule of law becomes when global trends, from climate change to economic demand, push systems past their limits. As the world produces more waste than ever before, countries are under immense pressure to manage growing volumes with limited resources. Recycling markets collapse. Landfills overflow. And nations, even ones with strong legal frameworks, start to look for shortcuts. We see it in how environmental laws are bent or delayed in the name of economic recovery or efficiency. When rules become difficult or inconvenient to follow, we begin to test their limits. And in doing so, we test the very existence of the rule of law. That’s why now, more than ever, we must choose to follow the rule of law not because it is easy, but because it is necessary. The difficulties of global trends are not excuses to bend the law. They are reasons to reinforce it — to double down on accountability, public oversight, and responsible governance.
Conclusion: So, what does the rule of law mean to me? It’s not just a legal principle or an abstract concept. It’s a collective commitment — one that only exists when we act on it. It lives in how we manage our waste, how we respond to injustice, and how we hold ourselves accountable even when no one is watching. If we abandon it in difficult times, we take away its power.. But when we stay with it, even when inconvenient, we show that the rule of law is not just something we expect, but something we sustain. The future of the rule of law in Canada will not be decided solely by judges. It will be shaped in everyday decisions. We cannot afford to treat the rule of law like garbage, something to be discarded when it no longer suits us. If we want it to endure, we must all carry its weight. Together, our collective actions will strengthen the rule of law.
Mia is only 17 and she will only get better as she grows older. I believe there are many young people like her in the world today and I feel excited about how they will transform it for the better. Let us give space for them and let them lead now.
