Association des Scouts du Canada

infobox WorldScouting |

headquarters= |location= 7679 rue Papineau, Montreal, Quebec |country=Canada |f-date=1907 |founder= |members=21,800 |chiefscouttitle=Chief Scout |chiefscout=Sylvain Thibault |chiefscouttitle2=President |chiefscout2=Paul Gaudreau |website=http://www.scoutsducanada.ca/

L'Association des Scouts du Canada (ASC) is a World Organization of the Scout Movement member along with Scouts Canada in Canada. It is a unique situation, Canada being the only country having two membership in the WOSM.

ituation

The biggest difference between the two associations is the language spoken and the religion behind it. Though Scouts Canada have French speaking members, they mainly take care of the English speaking members and the ASC takes care of the French speaking ones.

History

The very first Canadian unit was founded in 1908 in Saint Catharines, Ontario. In 1925, a Longueuil teacher called Georges-Henri Sainte-Marie started his own unit in the Saint-Antoine de Longueuil parish and decided not to affiliate with the Boy Scouts. In 1928 a group of five troops located in Montreal created a separate association, the Fédération des catholiques des Éclaireurs canadiens-français. The ASC was created in 1961 and in 1975 three new federations were created-Ontario, Atlantic and West.

In June 1994, the Association des Guides Francophones du Canada (Canadian French speaking Guides association) voted against a new protocol from the Girl Guides of Canada which asked for the return to female-only leaders and management, getting rid of almost 60% of the adults simply because they were men. In August of the same year the AGFC recommended to his members to go with the ASC and in October it became official. Since then French speaking Girl Guides are pretty much non existent.

In October 2004 the four federations where dissolved and the 40 districts are now under the direct responsibility of the ASC.

Youth

They have 8 different programs:

Each one of these use a precise program. The number of youth per unit varies from 5 to 30 youth and adults, 1 adult per 5 to 8 youth, depending on their age. There are unisex units as well as mixed units. When a unit is a female only one, they can either use a girls-only program or the boys one.

The association was built on the Catholic religion, but Canada being a multicultural country, their official stance on religion is left to each individual unit to the point where some Muslim group are part of the ASC and proud of it.

Locations

"See also Scouting in Québec"

Though the association have units in every province, a large amount of members are located in the province of Quebec, the biggest district being Montreal.

Neckerchief

No matter which association, in Canada there is only one official colors for the neckerchief, which is blue with a yellow border. ASC authorise units to have their own colors, to be used in every activity except the national and international one.

Uniforms

The uniforms authorized for wear by ASC members are different than those worn by members of Scouts Canada. Except for beaver, which have a yellow t-shirt, all uniforms consist of a colored shirt (the color depending on the age of the youth), a beige-khaki pant, a neckerchief and a leather belt. The color of the shirt is green for the 9-11 years old, blue for the 12-14 years old, red for the 15-18 years old and pale gray for the 18-21 years old. For the scout leaders, they wear the same color as the youth they are with. Since both girls and boys wear the same uniform, the only way to know which program they are under is by looking at their badges, which are quite different.

Adults

There are three functions served by adults in the association. Even as adults, members may progress and receive awards.

Monitors

Monitors are those who actually have contact with the youth. They organize activities following the VCPREF method as suggested by the ASC. Their mission is to assist the youth in developing their physical, spiritual, intellectual, social and affective potential. The awards are the Gilwell knot (Noeud de Gilwell) and the Wood Badge (Badge de bois).

Trainers

These adults are living toolboxes for monitors and provide them with appropriate training.

Managers

The managers help monitors by doing administrative tasks such as budget, census, communication, etc.

VCPREF method

The VCPREF method is a project management method used widely in the Association des Scouts du Canada.

There are 6 steps:
* Voulu (Wanted)
* Choisi (Chosen)
* Préparé (Prepared)
* Réalisé (Realised)
* Évalué (Evaluated)
* Fêté (Rewarded)

See also

* Guides franco-canadiennes
* Scouting in Québec

Publications

* Castors en plongée (7-8 years old), 2000
* L'Itinéraire des Hirondelles (7-8 years old girls), 2000
* Meute en chasse (9-11 years old), 2002
* Réseau en exploration (9-11 years old girls), 1996
* Parcours d'Éclaireurs (11-14 years old), 1998
* Le Club des Intrépides (11-14 years old girls), 1996
* Cimes (14-17 years old), 1995

External links

* [http://www.scoutsducanada.ca/ Official ASC website] (French)