Scouts Canada

infobox WorldScouting
type=

---

caption=
name=Scouts Canada
headquarters=1345 Baseline Road
location=Ottawa
country=Canada
f-date=October 30, 1946
founder=
members=70,091 youth
22,210 adults
(June 2, 2008) [cite web |url=http://scouts.ca/media//documents/June2nd2008MembershipReport.pdf|title=Scouts Canada Membership 2007-2008 |publisher=Scouts Canada |accessdate=2008-02-19 ]
chiefscouttitle =
chiefscout =Michaëlle Jean
chiefscouttitle2 =Chief Commissioner
chiefscout2 =Glenn Armstrong
website=http://www.scouts.ca

Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association that, in affiliation with the French-language Association des Scouts du Canada, is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). Scouts Canada provides programmes for young people, male and female, ages 5 to 26.

Program

Program sections

Scouts Canada has five program sections:
* Beavers, ages 5 to 7
* Wolf Cubs, ages 8 to 10
* Scouts (also Sea Scouts), ages 11 to 14 (optional to 16)
* Venturers (also Sea Venturers), ages 14 to 17
* Rovers (also Sea Rovers), ages 18 to 26

Programs are open to males and females.

Special programs

* MedVents (Medical Venturers) is a new program that consists of Venturers and Rovers that learn and provide first-aid. [ [http://www.scouts.ca/inside.asp?cmPageID=569 Scouts Canada - Official National Web Site: Rovers vow to serve and protect ] ]

Short-term programs

*SCOUTSaboutThe SCOUTSabout program aims to fulfill Scouting's mission with those children who are not members of a Scouting organization.cite news| last =Francis | first =Ross | coauthors =Ian Mitchell | title =It's All About Mission | work =The Leader | pages =8-9 | language =English | date =June/July 2002 | url =http://www.scouts.ca/media/documents/lmag_july2002_2.pdf| accessdate =2007-03-05] SCOUTSabout is implemented in 3-month long modules, often after school, to appeal to those families who do not want or can not commit to year-round activities.cite web| title =Short-term Programs | publisher =Scouts Canada | url =http://www.scouts.ca/inside.asp?cmPageID=101 | accessdate =2007-03-05] Theme based, the focus is on structured play and learning by doing without uniforms, badge programs and ceremonies. SCOUTSabout is for children between 5 and 10 years old.

*Extreme AdventureExtreme Adventure offers the opportunity for young people aged from 14 to 17, to plan and participate in a variety of short-term adventure-based activities. Example activities are: hiking, long-term camping and travelling abroad to participate in humanitarian projects. The program seeks to realise Scouting's mission with non-members. There is no uniform and are no ceremonies associated with this program. It is designed to include development of leadership skills and self-esteem and the particiaption in community projects that is also offered through the ordinary programs. Extreme Adventure is based on the Venturer Amory Adventure Award concept.

Major awards

Scouts Canada has several major awards:
* The Chief Scout's Award was established in 1973 as the top award in the Scout section.
* The Queen's Venturer Award is the top award in the Venturer section. In 1968, the normal upper age for members of the Scout section was reduced from 17 to 14 and the Venturer section was created for ages 14-17. As part of these changes, Queen's Scout rank was replaced with the Queen's Venturer Award.
* The Amory Adventure Award is awarded to the Venturer company that exhibits the most initiative in conceiving, planning, and executing an outdoor adventure.

Badge program

The Scout emblem incorporates the maple leaf of the flag of Canada with two sticks to create a stylized campfire.

Camps

Scouts Canada operates about 200 Scout camps across Canada. [ [http://scoutdocs.ca/Camps/ Scout Camps Directory - ScoutDocs ] ] Well-known camps include Impeesa Extreme, Haliburton Scout Reserve, Camp Byng and Tamaracouta Scout Reserve. The Tamaracouta Scout Reserve is the oldest continually operating Scout camp in the world.

History

In the spring of 1908, just months after the book "Scouting for Boys" was published in England, Scouting came to Canada. Robert Baden-Powell wrote to Earl Grey, then Governor General of Canada, in 1910 to ask him to organize Scouting in Canada. Scouting was carried on as part of The Boy Scouts Association Overseas Department until The Canadian General Council of the Boy Scout Association was incorporated by an Act of the Canadian Parliament on June 12, 1914. The Canadian General Council continued to be a branch of the Boy Scout Association until October 30, 1946, when it became an independent member of the Boy Scout World Conference, now the World Organization of the Scout Movement. A subsequent amendment to the Act of Parliament changed the name to Boy Scouts of Canada. In 1976 the Scouts Canada logo was introduced and the organization, by its By-laws, adopted the name Scouts Canada. In 2007 The Boy Scouts of Canada legally changed its name to Scouts Canada. [ [http://www2.parl.gc.ca/content/Senate/Bills/391/private/S-1001/S-1001_3/S-1001_text-e.htm Scouts Canada Act] ]

In 1972, Scouts Canada began accepting female members as part of its Rover Section. This was expanded in 1984 to include the Venturer Section. In 1992, co-ed Scouting was an option for all program sections and became policy for all sections in 1998.

Organization

Scouts Canada is divided into twenty Councils, each representing a whole province or large part thereof. Each Council is headed by a Council Commissioner appointed by the Executive Commissioner (the top staff member reporting to the Board of Governors). Councils are divided into Areas, each headed by an Area Commissioner appointed by the Council Commissioner. [ [http://sunshine.scouts.ca/bpp/BYLAW2.pdf Boy Scouts of Canada - By-law No. 2] ]

Scouts Canada has two affiliated Scout associations:
* Association des Scouts du Canada
* Salvation Army Scout Association

Canada is the only country with more than one Scouting association separately recognized by WOSM. Scouts Canada and Association des Scouts du Canada are divided by language. A number of other countries also have more than one Scouting association that may form a national federation to receive joint WOSM membership. Scouts Canada and Association des Scouts du Canada send a joint delegation to meetings of the World Organization of the Scout Movement; this is coordinated through the Committee on Cooperation.

Every Governor General since Earl Grey has been either the Chief Scout for Canada (prior to 1946) or Chief Scout of Canada (after 1946).

Jamborees

Canadian Scout Jamboree

was announced. CJ'07 is the first CJ planned to be held at a Scout camp.

List of Jamborees

* 1949: 1st Canadian Scout Jamboree, Connaught Ranges, Ottawa, Ontario. 2,579 attend.
* 1953: 2nd Canadian Scout Jamboree, Connaught Ranges, Ottawa, Ontario. 1,196 attend.
* 1961: 3rd Canadian Scout Jamboree, Connaught Ranges, Ottawa, Ontario. 2,095 attend.
* 1977: 4th Canadian Scout Jamboree, Cabot Beach Provincial Park, Prince Edward Island. 16,000 attend.
* 1981: 5th Canadian Scout Jamboree, Kananaskis, Alberta. 19,000 attend.
* 1985: 6th Canadian Scout Jamboree, Guelph Lake Conservation Area, Guelph, Ontario. 12,000 attend.
* 1989: 7th Canadian Scout Jamboree, Port-la-Joye—Fort Amherst, Prince Edward Island. 10,000 attend.
* 1993: 8th Canadian Scout Jamboree, Kananaskis, Alberta. 12,000 attend.
* 1997: 9th Canadian Scout Jamboree, Boulevard Lake Park, Thunder Bay, Ontario. 13,879 attend.
* 2001: 10th Canadian Scout Jamboree, Cabot Beach Provincial Park, Prince Edward Island. 14,000 attend.
* 2007: 11th Canadian Scout Jamboree, Tamaracouta Scout Reserve, Quebec. 7,000 attend.

World Jamborees held in Canada

* 8th World Scout Jamboree, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
* 15th World Scout Jamboree, Kananaskis, Alberta

Issues

Since the late 1960s, Scouts Canada has suffered from ongoing membership decline in all sections and among adults, especially in the transition between Cubs and Scouts. During this transition, Scouting's market share dropped from between ten and fifteen percent of young people to less than two percent. Scouts Canada is actively working to correct this by using camping programs and increasing direct program support to front line leaders. This includes a partnership with Robert Bateman's Get to Know Program [ [http://www.scouts.ca/inside.asp?cmPageID=792 Get to Know Program] ] , a program help line [ [http://www.scouts.ca/inside.asp?cmPageID=132 program help line] ] , an award winning Climate Change program [ [http://www.scouts.ca/inside.asp?cmPageID=477 Climate Change Resources] ] and a variety of camping programs across the country [ [http://chinook.scouts.ca/-web/?nav=11 Chinook Council] ] [ [http://gtc.scouts.ca/gtc_home.asp Greater Toronto Council] ] [ [http://www.tamaracouta.com/newsite/english.htm Camp Tamaracouta] ] . It was also announced in the latest Leader magazine that the magazine would retool to be more of a front line leader resource.

In 1998, the Baden-Powell Scouts (BPSA) were established in Canada, rejecting the modernization of the Scout method by WOSM and Scouts Canada. [ [http://www.geocities.com/bpsa_canada/ BPSA Canada federation] ] Scouts Canada challenged the association and successfully argued that the word "Scout", in the context of a youth organization, is a trademark held by Scouts Canada. The Baden-Powell Scouts ceased operation following that decision and reformed as the Baden-Powell Service Association. In BC, that movement serves roughly 50 youth under the age of 18 [ [http://www.bpsa-bc.org/i-groups.htm BPSA British Columbia] ] .

See also

* Scouting in Canada
* Girl Guides of Canada
* John Neysmith

References

External links

* [http://www.scouts.ca/ Scouts Canada]
* [http://scoutdocs.ca/Camps/ Camps operated by Scouts Canada]