The Centre for Research and Information On Canada
The Centre for Research and Information on Canada (CRIC), established in 1996, manages the Council’s research and communications activities. It keeps volunteers abreast of Canadians’ thinking by constantly tracking and analyzing public opinion about the federation.
CRIC is a one-of-a-kind organization. Its uniqueness stems from its ability to establish links throughout the country between its regional offices, its scores of regional roundtables, its thousands of volunteers and decision makers in politics, business associations, trade unions, and academe.
CRIC’s activities are focused in three areas:
The Research Office, located in Ottawa, is responsible for polling, studies, and the drafting of special publications.
The Communications and Citizen Participation Office oversees the activities of the Ontario and Atlantic Canada Regional Office, located in Toronto, and the Western and Northern Regional Office, located in Calgary. It organizes events, seminars and conferences. It is responsible for communications, media relations and the Council’s different websites.
The Quebec Regional Office, located in Quebec City, oversees organization, development and running of the 32 regional roundtables in the province. It tracks events and activities in Quebec, conducting research on issues that affect all of Canada.
CRIC’s team includes experts in the fields of Canadian politics, public opinion research and media relations. These specialists, working together, develop balanced positions for consideration by Council partners and volunteers.
Discussion roundtables are central to citizen participation. They exist in every part of the country, bringing together opinion leaders from different communities.
CRIC organizes conferences and seminars, usually in partnership with associations and academic institutions that share its goals. These are forums that draw academics, politicians, business people, volunteers and the public at large.
CRIC publishes a weekly newsletter called Opinion Canada.
Its internet portal provides access to different Council websites that feature information about programs as well as the outcomes of studies and polls. It is a source of information about conferences and seminars as well as articles on current events.
Youth Programs
The Council’s imaginative youth programs provide young Canadians with an opportunity to learn about the country’s political, social and cultural realities.
Encounters with Canada
Encounters with Canada gives 15 to 17-year-old high schoolers an opportunity to spend time in Canada’s capital, living in surroundings that encourage friendship and the sharing of experiences with others from every part of Canada; it is an environment in which they get a better grasp of Canada’s diversity.
Every week, during the school year, about 130 high school students are brought to Ottawa from across Canada. The first part of the week stresses Canadian institutions. Participants tour the National Capital Region and visit such places as the House of Commons, the Senate, and the Supreme Court of Canada. Later in the week, the focus shifts to one of nine areas of activity that include arts and culture; science and technology; and Canada and the world. These young people, from more than 2,000 high schools, meet with experts from the field under study. The focal point for this unique experience is the Council’s Terry Fox Canadian Youth Centre, located in the heart of a residential neighbourhood.
After acquiring the site in 1980, the Council renovated it, building dormitories and a cafeteria. There are six meeting rooms, recreation areas and an “internet café” where participants can go on line and exchange e-mails. Sports and games are played on the centre’s spacious grounds. It is in this setting that young people form new friendships – that often become lasting – with other young people from across the land.
Encounters with Canada vividly illustrates the spirit of volunteerism that underlies Council activities. Hundreds of guest speakers and resource persons donate time and expertise to the program, while more than 100 teachers from across Canada supervise the young people. In each province and territory, volunteers recruit young participants.
Through an agreement between the Council and the Government of Canada, Canadian Heritage subsidizes participants’ travel costs. The Council can ensure that a proportional cross section of students from high schools in every part of Canada take part in the program.
There is a registration fee. However, subsidies from some provincial governments and private sector support ensure that Encounters is accessible to young people from all economic backgrounds.
Summer Work-Student Exchange
Summer Work – Student Exchange allows teens from French and English-speaking federal ridings to experience the Canadian reality first hand. Young people trade places, staying with the families of their exchange counterparts, working in jobs provided by local non-profit organizations and participating fully in the daily life of their adopted communities. They improve their second-language skills while getting practical work experience and exposure to another part of Canada.
This program of the Council and participating Members of Parliament is supported by MPs from all parties in the Commons. Originally, it was started by MPs. As demand grew, MPs turned to the Council, with its demonstrated expertise in organizing exchanges, to administer it. When the Council began running it in 1998, 353 young people took part. The number doubled the following year and grew to 800 during the summer of 2000. At present, about 40 per cent of Canada’s 301 ridings take part in the exchange. Summer-Work – Student Exchange also provides employment for more than 100 university students who serve as program coordinators from April to the end of August. They recruit employers, organize activities and supervise participants.
Volunteers at the local level ensure that young people derive maximum benefit from their summer.
French for the Future
The Council, in partnership with French for the Future Inc. is responsible for national coordination of this annual event. High school students in different cities across Canada participate in a satellite-linked conference, and exchange views about the challenges and opportunities of learning both of Canada’s official languages. Students and teachers discuss opportunities in such fields as communications, arts and culture, politics, international relations and science and technology.
In 2000, His Excellency John Ralston Saul opened the conference. More than 500 participants from 60 high schools in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Halifax heard from speakers who work in the fields under discussion. In 2001, the number of cities will be expanded to six with the addition of Winnipeg and Fredericton. Local committees ensure grassroots participation and representation.