The National Council of Scouts Canada met May 4 - 7, 2000 in Winnipeg. Quebec's delegates were Charles Johnston, Provincial President and Jeff Smith, Provincial Commissioner. Richard Tracy also participated in the meetings. The following is a summary of the major decisions / actions that you might be interested in:
The concerns of Quebec Provincial Council members about this funding program were raised, and were echoed by most other councils. Our position was well received, and as a result the badge sponsorship program was withdrawn. It is important to note that as a consequence, the proposed budget revenue expectation of National was reduced by $200,000.
The following changes to policy were approved. Please make a note of
these in your copy of B.P.&P. until a new version is published:
FIRST AID (Page 42): change to "At lease one adult has First Aid
training and equipment appropriate for the activity."
REGULATIONS (Page 51, last paragraph): Change: The following agencies
are formally recognized by Scouts Canada as "an" authority in their
respective fields.
LETHAL WEAPONS (Firearms, page 44) Add the following to the end of the
paragraph: "(See also Range shooting below.) Note: For Scouts
Canada's purposes, firearms include but may not be limited to: pellet
guns, B.B. guns, and air rifles."
BEAVER CAMPING (paragraph (b), page 30) Last sentence to read: "If an
overnight camp is held, it takes place in the form of family camping
and the leadership must consist of a minimum of two Beaver Leaders,
one of whom must be at least 21 years of age, plus one additional
adult for every two Beavers."
As well as the above changes to BP&P, notice of motion was given for the following policy to be added: "No adult or other person who has a duty of care toward any youth member (Beavers to Rovers inclusive) shall consume alcohol or any other mood-altering substance during any Scouting program activity which involves youth members or within a time frame which would affect their ability to carry out their duty of care toward youth members."
A new Beaver Parent's Guide (similar to the Cub one, which is stitched into the front of the Cub Book), is now available. As there is no handbook for Beavers in which to distribute it, it is being made available for downloading from the Scouts Canada web site at www.scouts.ca for the time being. Beaver Leaders are welcome to distribute it to the parents of their members.
Program standards have now been established for all sections to assist Scouters, Group Committees and Commissioners in evaluating their own programs and operations. Once we get an electronic copy, we will make it widely available. In the mean time, a draft version has been distributed to commissioners for them to share.
A self-directed program planning CD-ROM is on schedule for fall delivery of the English version. As soon as we have delivery dates, we will let you know.
A notice of motion proposing to raise the 2001-2002 national fee was withdrawn, on the basis of provincial councils paying the same national fee for the next three years based on the actual registered membership at August 31, 2000 (i.e. if our membership goes down, it will cost us more per member, if membership goes up, it will cost us less per member).
Several points regarding CJ01 were raised. (1) Members were encouraged to use the national "program help line" for CJ01 questions (1-800-339-6643 or via e-mail at pgmhelp@s... ). Should you need information in French, please continue to use the Quebec Council office telephone and ask for Tim Foreman. (2) It was noted that the Youth Leadership Training Program is likely to be sold out soon, and anyone interested is encouraged to register early to avoid disappointment. (3) On the risk management side, it was noted that if "Scouts Canada" or its "agents" (such as Group Committees or Leaders) arranges for the transportation of youth members to CJ01 (or any other camp for that matter), regulations applicable to commercial carriers must be followed. For example, any single driver is limited in how many hours he can spend behind the wheel in any 24-hour period. Of course, parents who drive only their own children do not fall under this restriction, but the safety and security of those involved should be of paramount consideration.
The National Council approved a new by-law at a special general meeting called for that purpose on Saturday, May 6, 2000. The by-law was approved with several minor amendments and is now in effect.