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SCOUT eh! is an
organization An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived fro ...
of "registered
Scouts Canada Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association providing programs for young people, aged 5 to 26, with the stated aim "to help develop well rounded youth, better prepared for success in the world". Scouts Canada, in affiliation with the French ...
members dedicated to transforming Scouts Canada into a
democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
association". The name is an
acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in '' NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, a ...
for "Scouts Canada Ordinary-member Unity Taskforce Association". SCOUT eh! was founded in August, 2004. As of September, 2006 it had over 700 members from every Scouts Canada council and Canadian
province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
.


Background

SCOUT eh! was formed in response to a restructuring within
Scouts Canada Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association providing programs for young people, aged 5 to 26, with the stated aim "to help develop well rounded youth, better prepared for success in the world". Scouts Canada, in affiliation with the French ...
leading to what its members considered to be a non democratic management structure. In the late 1990s, Scouts Canada embarked on a restructuring process aimed at addressing the ongoing problem of membership decline. A team wrote what was officially known as the Millennium Report. The report described a dramatically more centralized and staff-directed structure for the association. The report was extremely unpopular with some portions of Scouts Canada's membership, especially those at the District level. Scouts Canada formally set aside the report, but continued work on restructuring. In 2000, Scouts Canada replaced its General By-Law with By-Law No. 1. The amendments replaced the 52-member National Council with a 23-member Board of Governors and divided the membership into Ordinary Members, who have no voting rights; and Voting Members, a group of 100 or fewer people who elect the Board and vote on matters presented to the national Annual General Meeting. 2002 saw the implementation of restructuring. Scouts Canada passed By-Law No. 2 which replaced the Provincial, Regional, and District Councils with 20 new councils, comprising an entire province or a large part of a province. Councils are led by a Council Commissioner, appointed by Scouts Canada's volunteer Chief Commissioner. The Districts were transformed into Areas overseen by an Area Commissioner appointed by and accountable to the Council Commissioner. Scouts Canada's Ontario Incorporated Body, which is the
trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...
for most of the Scout camps in Ontario, began a property review process. By 2004, dissatisfaction existed among some of Scouts Canada's membership. While some of the national leadership and staff considered the restructuring to be a success, some others at the local level objected to the changes and found the new system to be ineffective at helping
Scouter A Scout leader or Scouter generally refers to the trained adult leader of a Scout unit. The terms used vary from country to country, over time, and with the type of unit. Roles There are many different roles a leader can fulfill depending on t ...
s deliver the program.


Activities

The first SCOUT eh! gathering, referred to as CAMP eh! was held September 24–26, 2004 at Camp Timken near
Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though the ...
in Ontario. Two-dozen Scouters including Scouters from
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
,
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
, and
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
gathered to learn about the issues, discuss strategy, and draft a constitution for the association.


Camp sales campaign

The property review had become public knowledge and Scouters were worried about losing local camps. An information session at an April, 2004 Scouts Canada conference near
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
did not reassure all the membership. In the middle of that summer, Scouts Canada produced a list of Scout camps they wanted to close. During this time some volunteers spearheaded the creation of a committee aimed at giving the disenfranchised membership direct management of the management and direction of Scouts Canada.


Financial concerns

SCOUT eh! has been a watchdog for Scouts Canada's finances. In 2006 it published that due to a claimed fall in members, financial issues and "top-heavy management", Scouts Canada may not have been able to last much past the summer 2007 centennial celebrations. In 2007 it expressed concerns that Scouts Canada faced potential bankruptcy due to a $6-million unfunded pension liability. Scouts Canada denied the claims.


Bill S-1001, The Scouts Canada Act campaign

In September 2006, SCOUT eh! announced it had surpassed 700 members nationally. During 2006 SCOUT eh! campaigned against Bill S-1001, The Scouts Canada Act. On Monday, December 4, 2006 SCOUT eh! made their case to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. In 2007 SCOUT eh! petitioned the government, arguing that; * The membership of Scouts Canada had not been consulted on the Bill, * Information about the Bill had not made available to the membership, * That "the Bill will make fundamental that are changes contrary to the underlying principles governing Scouting and will adversely affect the rights heretofore enjoyed by members of the Boy Scouts of Canada and will be to the detriment of the membership".


Scouts Canada Policy 1014 campaign

In 2007, Scouts Canada announced Policy 1014 which requires that each council's Voting Members be elected by representatives of the council, and its areas and groups. While it acknowledged that the system is an improvement, SCOUT eh! criticized the policy because: * Most members of voting age are still not allowed to vote * Votes are distributed in an unequal manner which favors councils, areas, and small groups * Ordinary Members remain many levels removed from the decision-making process of the Board of Governors, resulting in mis-communication


Haliburton campaign

In 2009 a campaign was launched against the sale of part of the
Haliburton Scout Reserve Haliburton Scout Reserve (HSR) is a Scout camp, originally a frontier Canadian logging camp, located east of Haliburton, Ontario and just south of Algonquin Park, one of Canada's natural wonders situated deep and secluded within the Canadian shi ...
, a 20 square kilometre (5000
acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...
) Scout camp located east of Haliburton, Ontario described as Canada's largest Scout Camp. The organisation formed an online campaign against the sale of a 100-acre parcel of land for $1.3 million.


See also


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scout Eh! Scouting and Guiding in Canada