For troops and crews in Michigan and neighboring states, the easiest way to participate in an international Scouting event is to travel to Ontario. There are two Scout Associations in Canada that are members of WOSM (World Organization of the Scout Movement). The largest one and the one you will encounter in Ontario is Scouts Canada. You can learn about the Scouts Canada guidelines for U.S. Scouts to participate in their events at International Participation in Canadian Events. The other WOSM member Scout Association in Canada is the French speaking Association Des Scouts du Canada with members mostly in Quebec.
There are many regularly scheduled weekend international camporees in Ontario:
Can-Am Camporee – Held in early May at Camp Attawandaron near Grand Bend, Ontario
Dorchester International Brotherhood Camporee - Held on Mothers Day weekend at Camp Bell near Dorchester, Ontario
International Friendship Camporee – Spring Camporee near Belleville, Michigan – Fall Camporee near Amherstburg, Ontario
Loyalist Area World Brotherhood Camporee - Held every September, in even years, in the US at Wellesley Island State Park in the Thousand Islands across from Clayton, NY, and in odd years in Canada at Riverside Cedar Provincial Park near Morrisburg, ON.
Owen Sound Scouts Winter Camp - Held every January at Harrison Park in Owen Sound, Ontario
Scope - Extended weekend exchange between Ontario Scouts and Pennsylvania Scouts
Scout Brigade
of Fort George -
The third weekend in September each year at Niagara-on-the Lake, Ontario,
reenacting the War of 1812.
Stoney Creek International Scout Camp - Held in early June at Confederation Park in Stoney Creek, Ontario
Tri-District May 2007 - Rotated between Ontario, Quebec, and New York state
Wellington International Camporee - late September, Guelph Lake, Guelph, Ontario
Woodstock International Camp - Held in May at Camp Shegardaynou east of Woodstock, Ontario
There is also a week-long international camp, The Great Lakes Jamboree, which is held every even numbered year at Camp Bel in Dorchester, near London, Ontario
Scouts Canada holds both National Jamborees and Provincial Jamborees to which BSA troops and crews are invited. To find out about upcoming jamborees in Canada, go to the Scouts Canada Canadian Events Calendar.
There are many Scouts Canada camps in Ontario, including Haliburton Scout Reserve, the largest Scout camp in Canada, 5000 acres located 150 miles north of Toronto. Chief Okemos Council troops have used and recommend Camp Manitou near Campbellville, the Bruce Trail, and the Niagara Escarpment climbing areas, and Camp Wetaskiwin in St Catharines, not far from Niagara Falls.
Troops and crew traveling to Ontario might also be interested in Ontario Parks, an excellent source of information on Ontario Parks which includes VR tours of Bon Echo and Killarney Provincial Parks and a downloadable canoeing map of Algonquin Provincial Park.
US - CANADA BORDER CROSSING PROCEDURES FOR BSA GROUPS
Border crossing rules are in the process of being changed. Currently, adult leaders can cross into Canada with a valid photo ID like a driver’s license and Cubs, Scouts and Venturers need either the combination of a birth certificate and photo ID or a passport. Cubs, Scouts, and Venturers who are under 18 also need a YOUTH PERMISSION FORM (See below.). If your group is traveling in several vehicles, the paperwork for each person must be in the vehicle that person is riding in. Make sure that your Scouts are in uniform when they cross the border and polite during the border crossing.
As of Jan. 31, 2008, anyone 19 or older traveling to and from Canada by land will need to present either a passport or the combination of a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, plus proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate. After a date in the summer of 2008 that will be formally announced with at least 60 days notice by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a passport will be required for anyone 19 or older traveling to and from Canada by land. All Cubs, Scouts and Venturers who are 18 or younger and are traveling as part of a Scout group may use “a certified copy of their birth certificate as an alternative to a passport.” They should also have a photo ID to verify that they are the person named in the birth certificate. The need for a YOUTH PERMISSION FORM will not change.
YOUTH PERMISSION FORM – The Canadian Government recommends on their web site:
That a consent document or letter be carried to prove that the child has the permission of the absent lawful parent(s) or guardian to travel. This document should be specific to each trip and should include contact information for the parent(s) or guardian. A sample consent letter is provided for parents to use as a model to draft their own consent letter.
It is strongly recommended that children carry a consent letter for each and every trip abroad. Although anyone can witness/sign these letters, it is advisable to have the consent letter certified, stamped or sealed by an official who has the authority to administer an oath or solemn declaration (ie. a commissioner for oaths, notary public, lawyer, etc.) so that the validity of the letter will not be questioned. It is up to each official/individual who witnesses such a letter to decide what proof he/she needs to see to be able to witness/sign the letter. Officials should only witness/sign a letter of consent if he/she is convinced that the individual requesting the letter is who he/she claims to be and that adequate proof has been provided.
This consent document could be required even if the separation or divorce documents award custody of the child to the accompanying parent, but the non-custodial parent has legal access or visiting rights to the child.
In addition to the certified consent document from the absent parent, a copy of any separation, divorce or custody decree might be requested.
A child of divorced or separated parents who is traveling without either parent could use either one consent document signed by both parents or two separate documents.
If a legal guardian is accompanying the child, then a copy of the court order granting guardianship might also be requested.
If only one parent's name appears on the birth certificate, and the child is traveling with the other parent, then we also recommend that a certified copy of the child's birth certificate be carried.
If one parent has died, a certified copy of the death certificate could also be carried.
Remember that customs officers, as well as other authorities, inside and outside Canada are looking for missing children and may ask questions. Make sure you carry the proper identification for yourself and any children traveling with you. In addition to passports, proper identification could include, but is not limited to, birth certificates, citizenship cards, landed immigrant records and certificates of Indian status.