In late November 2107, twenty-three Canadian camping leaders met for two days at Camp Elphinstone on the Sunshine Coast of beautiful British Columbia. The group included five recently-elected provincial Presidents and two newly-appointed Administrative Staff, all keen to learn and to share.
President Stephane Richard led us through a packed agenda, which included items of importance to every camp in Canada.
We celebrated our successes:
We were invited to participate in two important initiatives:
We accepted a challenge:
A newly formed committee will seek alternate resources to enable us to continue to finance our programs and initiatives that benefit all camps. Marketing, research and lobbying have been identified as important national programs. With additional funding, we could accept the offer of the Quebec Camping Association to translate their newly created Emergency Procedures and Inclusion documents.
On the day of and the day prior to the US Presidential election, the sixth annual National Leadership Forum of eighteen camping leaders convened at Camp Tawingo in Huntsville, Ontario.
Stephane Richard (CCA President-Elect), Jill Dundas (CCA President), and Harry Edwards (Past President) at the National Leadership Forum.
Following Trump’s election, we witnessed protest marches on both sides of the US. On the contrary, guided through a packed agenda by CCA President Elect, Stephane Richard, we departed to our separate provinces committed to build bridges not walls and launch several, exciting, national initiatives.
Despite the limited time and the temptation to be outside by the lake in the glorious November sunshine rather than inside at a board table, we accomplished much:
President Jill Dundas has kept us on track for the past three years as we began to implement the vision identified for CCA. Thank you, Jill!
The Board Members, Committee Chairs, Provincial Presidents and Executive Directors departed from the 6th National Leadership Forum united and willing to give Stephane Richard their full co-operation and commitment when he begins in January 2017 to lead us to realize our ambitious dream for CCA. Good luck, Stephane!
Delegates to the National Leadership Forum gathered in Bromont, QC in November 2015
In November 16, 2015, twenty six leaders in Canadian Camping including CCA Board Members, Provincial Representatives and Committee Chairs, Executive Directors and Provincial Presidents gathered at Chateau Bromont, Quebec. John Jorgenson, President of the International Camping Fellowship, opened with an inspiring message which concluded: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Quebec presented three new programs, which we hope to share soon with the rest of the country:
On November 17 and 18, 2014, twenty-nine Canadian camping leaders met for the National Leadership Forum at the Toronto Airport Holiday Inn. The participants included the CCA Board, Provincial Presidents, Executive Directors and National Committee and Task Force Chairs.
On the second day, after hearing reports from every province and committee the participants focused on three priorities: marketing, education and lobbying.
Chair, Liz Kovach (Executive Director for Manitoba) with assistance from Gabrielle Raille (ICF Representative) of Quebec will form a task force of provincial representatives to develop a National Marketing Campaign. Before seeking professional input, they will begin by answering two questions:
John Savage (CCA Board Representative for New Brunswick) with assistance from Sean Day (CCA Board Representative from Quebec) is committed to hosting a Canadian Camp Directors Course in New Brunswick in the Fall of 2015 with leadership from Jane McCutcheon (former CCA Treasurer) and Jeff Bradshaw (Camp Wenonah).
Currently, Mark Diamond (Director of Camp Manitou, Ontario) is the Chair of the CCA Lobbying Committee, which was established in the Spring of 2014 to address pending federal legislation affecting camps. Jill Dundas (CCA President) and Jonathan Nyquist (CCA Board Representative for Ontario) are members. The intention is to expand the committee to include a representative from every province to act as a watch dog for pending legislation affecting their camps and disseminate relevant information to their camps.
Earlier efforts, which were focused on Transport Canada legislation, were successful in negotiating a camp-specific course for camp boat drivers that is less onerous than the Small Vessel Operator Proficiency. Decisions are being made on how and by whom this course will be delivered to camps for summer 2015. Work is ongoing on insurance requirements for camp boats.
Attention then focused on Foreign Workers Legislation. The hope is for current exemptions for charitable and religious camps to continue while gaining an exemption for all camps. CCA is budgeting to cover all costs of lobbying on national legislation pertaining to camps.
After identifying the awareness of new legislation and government lobbying as priorities at the November 2013 National Leadership Forum, the CCA pleased to announce that it has:
In November, 27 leaders in Canadian camping including Provincial Presidents, Executive Directors and representatives of every province met in Toronto for the third National Leadership Forum.
Facilitated by Jill Dundas, CCA President Elect, this capable and committed group collaborated to frame the future direction for the Canadian Camping Association.
The gathering began with a report on the status of current programs and a commitment to continue to provide current services: CCA Insurance, tree planting, the Roberta Bondar Challenge, BackCheck, Awards Program, Research, and website, Facebook and Twitter communications.
The participants then drafted an ambitious plan to support the camping industry with several exciting new initiatives:
The CCA Board is charged with finding the volunteers and financial resources to implement these programs.
We want to hear your comments, suggestions and/or offers of assistance! Please feel free to contact Jill Dundas, and be part of the exciting future for Canadian camping! You can reach Jill by email at jill.dundas@sympatico.ca.
At the recent National Leadership Forum of camping professionals from across Canada, CCA presented Dr. Troy Glover, Associate Professor, Director of the Healthy Communities Research Network, University of Waterloo, with the Jack Pearse Award of Honour.
Dr. Glover directed the six-year study, the Canadian Summer Camp Research Project, which proves the great benefits of camp for children and youth. In the final phase of the research, parents confirmed that the proven benefits extend beyond camp.
For a complete report of the study, please click here.
Dr. Stephen Fine, CCA Research Chair, discusses the findings in this ACA article.