How Canada Post Chooses What Goes on a Stamp

Many stories and obituaries marking the recent passing of Stompin' Tom Connors gave prominent mention to the fact that the beloved Canadian singer-songwriter was featured on a stamp. Some might wonder how that happened -- and how does someone end up on a postage stamp, anyway?

As the (non-paid) Chair of the Canada Post Stamp Advisory Committee, I'll try to explain how an image of Stompin' Tom (and others) finds its way on to that small piece of perforated real estate.

I will start with a bit of history. Until 2005, the only way to end up on a Canadian stamp was to be dead. The only exception was the ruling monarch -- for the last 61 years Queen Elizabeth II -- and living creatures, like the beaver, the moose, etc. There was an occasional blurring of this line -- living subjects were depicted on a series honouring NHL hockey, for example -- but they were deemed "representational" (wink-wink) and thus not in violation of the rules.

One of the problems with being dead is that you really don't get to fully appreciate the honour of appearing on a stamp (or much of anything else.) At Canada Post we decided the policy had outlived its usefulness.

The first beneficiary of this change was the world-renowned jazz pianist, Dr. Oscar Peterson, whose stamp was issued on August 15, 2005, on the occasion of his 80th birthday. I was fortunate enough to be present at the event, which included members of Peterson's family, as well as luminaries such as Diana Krall (a former piano student of Peterson) and Elvis Costello. The joy the event brought Peterson -- and the publicity it garnered nationally regarding a Canadian legend -- indicated we had headed down the right path.

But how do we pick the subjects? Well, it all starts with the Canadian public. Anyone can submit an idea for a stamp topic or subject. Whether that suggestion comes from the Prime Minister or a six year-old, it gets equal consideration. Canada Post gets on average about 600 suggestions a year. Some are a bit strange, but all are treated seriously. And because we are limited to only 20 - 25 subjects and issue between 50 - 60 individual stamps annually, many worthy subjects just don't make the cut.

The Stamp Committee, made up of 12 individuals drawn from across the country and possessing diverse talents and backgrounds, debates both the subjects and subsequent stamp designs. The meetings are not dull and the Chair's gavel can get quite a work-out. As this is just an Advisory Committee, the final say (or nay) rests with the Canada Post Board of Directors.

In terms of individuals, like Stompin' Tom, the selection comes under a broader category, in this case Canadian Recording Artists. Tom was honoured along with three other artists (Bryan Adams, Edith Butler and Robert Charlebois) on July 2, 2009. Much as was the case with Dr. Peterson, Stompin' Tom was tickled by the honour, saying more than once that it beat every other accolade he had ever received.

With the change in policy, I sometimes get questioned as to why so-and-so isn't on a stamp. In some cases -- I will use Leonard Cohen as an example -- it is not because he was deemed unworthy; quite the contrary. But the individual must give their assent. We do not "surprise" subjects with their image suddenly appearing out of nowhere on a stamp. (Leonard, if you are out there, please reconsider -- no live artists are harmed in the making of a stamp.)

In other instances, the subject has yet to deliver what one would consider a "full body of work." One hit song at 14 would not qualify; plus, as a matter of practice if not policy, we prefer that subjects previously have been awarded an Order of Canada designation or a Governor General's Award.

And of course this isn't limited to recording stars -- we issued a series on "Canadians Who Have Made a Difference" recognizing individuals for their humanitarian efforts, for example. And of course there was also the Royal Wedding last summer -- Kate and William proved hugely popular as subjects and sales were robust. It goes without saying that the market for the stamp -- especially among collectors -- is part of the decision-making mix.

So if you have an idea for a stamp subject -- living or dead -- feel free to send it along. The address is:

Chair
Stamp Advisory Committee
Canada Post
2701 Riverside Drive, N1070
Ottawa, ON K1A 0B1

You'll get no payment for your suggestion, but you might make someone as happy as Stompin' Tom!

Published in The Huffington Post (March 20, 2013)

Bob Dole: Requiem for a Middleweight

Bob Dole is very much alive. Frail, yes, but the former US Senate Leader and presidential candidate is certainly alive in the fullest sense of that word. He will be 90 in July, but as I sat with him recently in his F Street office, three doors down from Ford’s Theater, I could not help but marvel at his grasp of current events; his ability to conjure up the names of mutual colleagues and friends; and, best of all, the flashes of wry, often dry, wit, his signature trademark both before and after my tenure as his press secretary.

This article is not an interview with Bob Dole. Press secretaries do not interview their former charges. Besides, the Senator had just completed an interview an hour before, with the Boston Globe, on the topic of “bipartisanship”.  What we were having, in the vernacular of the American Midwest, was a “visit”. Visits are relaxed affairs, an opportunity to catch up on one another’s lives, chew over the issues of the day and reminisce. This particular visit came courtesy of Senator Dole’s daughter, Robin, who suggested I stop by on my drive back from Florida to my home in Ottawa.

This is instead an appreciation; homage; a premature requiem for a living legend. Tradition has it that one has to wait for a person to pass to the next world before speaking well of them. Shakespeare’s Marc Anthony famously came to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The heck with tradition: I come to praise the living Bob Dole.

I arrived in Bob Dole’s office in 1979 under somewhat odd circumstances. I was the press secretary to Edward Brooke, a liberal Republican US Senator from Massachusetts (there was such an exotic species in the 1970’s). Brooke had just lost his re-election bid; I happened to be alone in the Washington office a day later and, sitting at the front reception desk, answered the phone. It was Bob Dole. Or, I decided, it was a friend pretending to be Bob Dole. “Right”, I said. “You’re Bob Dole...and I’m Jimmy Carter!” And I hung up. A few minutes later the phone rang again. It was Bob Dole. Looking for me. I disguised my voice...and said I would have Bob Waite get back to him as soon as possible.

When Bob Dole subsequently offered me the job as his press secretary, I at first resisted. I thought him too conservative, too ideologically driven. It was Ed Brooke who disabused me of this. “Whenever I needed a vote on a civil rights issue, or housing or banking issue, nine times out of ten I could count on Dole. You need to be more open-minded,” he counseled.

What I subsequently came to learn over the next several years was that Bob Dole was at heart a centralist, a pragmatist, a problem-solver. Unlike some of his colleagues, he understood and enjoyed the machinery of the Senate and knew how to not only propose (issuing press releases was always the easy part) but also how to shepherd, to move bills through committee to passage, typically by finding an ally across the floor, a George McGovern, Bill Bradley or even a Ted Kennedy. He wasn’t afraid to take on hard issues, like social security reform or scaling back the then-unlimited deduction of interest payments from income taxes. And he wasn’t afraid to fight for issues core to his being, like accommodation for the disabled and a fair deal for veterans – issues stemming from his own first-hand experience as a severely wounded World War II vet.

He was, like fellow Kansan Dwight Eisenhower, a champion of the middle. He occupied a section of the political highway that sadly seems to have entirely disappeared in recent times. It is indeed not impossible to imagine, if he were sitting in the Senate today, a younger version of himself, that he would be challenged by the Tea Party.

Now, before this all gets too misty-eyed, let me be clear - Bob Dole was not always easy to work for. He was famously demanding. He kept very long hours and did not suffer fools gladly. He took on relatively young staff – typical on the Hill- and worked us harder than we could have ever imagined. 

He asked me during our visit how old I had been when I started. “Twenty-nine, Senator,” I said. He chuckled. “When I think back, you were all young. And even after ten or twenty or thirty years go by, I still think of you all as young. And I tell people a senator is only as good as his staff “...and he went on, with the pride of a patriarch, to tick off the names of individuals, like Shelia Burke, a health care policy expert now at Harvard; Ernest Garcia, today the head of the Kansas Highway Patrol; and Richard Norton Smith, the esteemed historian and biographer, as examples of the quality of the people he had assembled.

As our visit drew to a close, I could not help but notice a couple of items around his office. Behind him, on the credenza, was a block of wood inscribed “Never Give Up”, Winston Churchill’s exhortation at the depths of Britain’s struggle with the Nazi’s. A fitting saying also for a man who endured literally years of surgery and rehabilitation from his severe war wounds to carve out a life of public service...and as recently as December appeared, despite recent illness, on the floor of the Senate to implore ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (an effort which ultimately failed, due largely to opposition from Republicans.)

I also spied on the wall to his right a picture of his father, Doran Dole. It was a reminder of Dole’s modest upbringing in Russell, Kansas. His father ran a small creamery and, like many with the coming of the depression, fell on very hard times, moving the family to the basement of their home at one point to allow the rental of the upper floors. Some might have chosen to downplay such humble beginnings. Senator Dole instead gave his dad a place of honor for all to see.

It seems just as fitting at this juncture to honor Bob Dole. And also mourn that there are so few today in public life, on either side of the aisle, who fit his mold. It is a pity.

Published in the Huffington Post, March 4, 2013

Myths About Boarding Schools

Overseas students are flocking to Canada to attend this country’s boarding schools. Thousands arrive each year from places as distant as Turkey, Columbia and Uzbekistan (and as close as California or New York). Thousands more would like to come. They do so because they (or, more likely, their parents) believe a Canadian high school education can be the ticket to an elite university, either in Canada, in the US, or elsewhere in the world. 

Recent surveys back up this belief. PrepReview, an independent service that rates high schools based on their ability to place graduates at Ivy League schools, plus Stanford, MIT, Cambridge, Oxford, McGill and the University of Toronto, in 2013  ranks five Canadian boarding schools as among the most successful by this measure.

One can argue about the wisdom of parents only seeking out these so-called elite universities – many educators argue that the best educational “fit” for a child should trump the bragging rights of  heading off to a Harvard, Oxford or McGill – but the fact is, overseas parents are eager to provide their children with such opportunities.

The benefit to the Canadian economy of this desire is not insignificant – a Department of Foreign Affairs study released last fall estimated the total annual economic impact derived from international students attending Canadian secondary schools to be approximately $800 million (and the economic impact of all foreign students in Canada to be in excess of $8 billion.)

The question isn’t why overseas students are clamouring to gain access to Canadian boarding schools. The real mystery is why Canadian students, by and large, are not.

Some of the answers can be found in a survey released by the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS), which represents most of Canada’s top not-for-profit independent schools.

The survey was carried out by a third-party, independent firm, Innovative Research Group Inc. Conducted on-line, it targeted a representative cross-section of 767 Canadians with at least one child under the age of 18.

What CAIS says it was trying to understand - on behalf of its 28 member schools that offer a residential option—was a sense of Canadian’s attitude towards boarding in general.

What they learned was instructive.

First of all, 95% surveyed said that they had not- and probably would not-. consider a boarding school for their child.

The primary reason? The majority – fully 68%-- expressed a belief that boarding is only “for the rich and an elite few”. However, if told that money was not a factor, five times as many parents – 25% vs. 5%- said they would consider boarding as an option.

Another issue raised by parents was a desire to “keep their children at home”:  17% of those surveyed cited this as the primary reason they would not consider boarding.

There were other reasons given as well – including “I just don’t like the idea”. 

Full disclosure – I attended an all-boys boarding school myself thirty-five years ago. I ended up running away to Montreal to become the next Leonard Cohen. That didn’t exactly work out as planned, but I certainly understand parental misgivings regarding boarding schools. So I asked Anne-Marie Kee, Executive Director of CAIS, to explain what’s different today – and why Canadians should perhaps give boarding a second look. 

Ms. Kee says boarding schools in Canada are “subject to unfair stereotypes, misconceptions and myths.”

“The first myth is that boarding schools are dark, dank, somber institutions out of a Charles Dickens novel. Boarding schools may have been Victorian in the days of Queen Victoria, but those days are long gone,” Ms. Kee asserts.

“Walk into any boarding school today and you’ll find a vibrant, highly energized student body, housed in first-rate surroundings and engaged in more activities than you can imagine. St. George’s School in Vancouver is a great example. At various times boarders can go on a whale-watching expedition; take a cooking class; attend a CFL game; or go night-skiing at nearby Cypress Mountain” she added.

This definitely sounded better than my experience.

According to Ms. Kee, Myth # 2 is that boarding schools are only for the wealthy.

“Yes, it is true, the sticker price can be high, anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000”, Ms. Kee admits. “But we know from surveys of current parents that a significant number of families – 20% -- are firmly middle class, making less than $100,000 in combined household income. It is important to keep in mind that virtually all boarding schools offer need- and merit-based financial aid or entrance scholarships, with CAIS schools an aggregate amount of more than $14 million annually.” 

Myth #3, according to Ms. Kee, is that “you have to be a member of Canada’s WASP elite” to attend boarding school.

“Again,” she says, “the best way to explode this myth is to visit a boarding school. As with Canada itself, the faces you will see represent every kind of ethnic and racial diversity. Layer upon that the significant number of overseas students at most schools and you truly have a unique community of learners.”

Myth #4, Ms Kee says, is that “parents send their kids to boarding schools because they don’t want them around.”

This one hit a little close to home. “Explain that one to me,” I said.

“Well, the truth here is that the overwhelming majority of parents loan their children to boarding schools, often reluctantly at first, because they believe they will acquire powerful 21^st Century learning skills. Things like initiative; collaboration; independence of thought and action; resilience, skills that will ultimately allow them to be more successful at university- and in life.”

“Never before has there been as stronger link between the skills needed in the 21^st Century and the boarding experience,” Ms. Kee added. “Learning to be independent is especially important.  We hear a lot today about smothering helicopter parents and tiger mothers and of children who can’t seem to ever leave Mom and Dad- and Mom and Dad’s home- behind. Boarding school can actually serve as an invaluable social and emotional bridge, not just to university, but to a life of emotional independence.”

Clearly the boarding school experience (and just about everything else) has changed from my day. International parents and students seem to have discovered this; perhaps it is time for more Canadians to give these schools a second look.

(Despite running away, Robert Waite later served on his school’s board of trustees for 12 years. He also served for three years as university advisor to the Ottawa South Soccer Club, Ontario’s largest.)

WEEKLY WAITE-O-GRAM (REL. 57.0)

CLIFFS OF INSANITY

As I write this, the United States Congress has enacted a lame, last-minute stop-gap measure to avoid the worst aspects of the so-called Fiscal Cliff. (One problem is that Republicans and Democrats could not even agree on what those worst aspects might be, save for the expiration of the 1949 Dairy Support Act, which would have doubled or tripled the price of a gallon jug.)  Commentators all agree on one point - averting the cliff on January 1 changed little -- the wrangling will continued ad-nausea, far into the future. The ideological split between parties - and between Red and Blue states - is so deep and intractable that no one can conceive of a way out. At least until now...

REORG, ANYONE?

When I was at IBM and when things seemed stuck... we reorganized! Sometimes the realignment was around products or lines of business; at other times it was geographic, rearranging and reassigning responsibility for countries or whole continents.  And it seemed to work like a charm. Most everybody got fancy new titles (and got to run away from their previous unit's targets, plans and results). Why can't North America do the same?

A MODEST PROPOSAL

As you may know, we are in the midst of marking the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. Despite what it might say in some American textbooks, this conflict was not a victory for the U.S. (nor for the British, other than it reaffirmed their dominion over what would later become Canada.)  What better time to affect a more definitive realignment...one that would put an end to wrangling and political discord in both countries? One that doesn't involve burning down each other's capital cities (as happened in back then). The solution is simple enough - take the United States and Canada, briefly combine the various provinces, states and territories...shake vigorously... and then pour them off into three distinct vessels...one Red...one Blue... and one White.

HEARTLANDIA

Let's start with the new Red nation, which would roughly correspond to the US Republican states of America's heartland and deep south ... combined with the oil, gas and grain-rich provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. This would be a land of low taxes, energy and agricultural self-sufficiency... and "family values". Let's call it "Heartlandia".  The capital would be in Bismarck, North Dakota (although the name would be changed to "District of Rand").  Heartlandia would adopt (or retain) the Queen as Head of State...and Newt Gingrich would be the new nation's first Prime Minister, owing to his physical resemblance to Stephen Harper (and the firm knowledge that he will find nothing ironic in the use of the name "Heartlandia".)

LIBROVIA 

Next we have Librovia, which would consist of the US Blue states in the northeast; the west coast states of California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington; and several blueish states, like Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota, clustered around the Great Lakes. To this would be added the provinces of British Columbia; Ontario; much of New Brunswick; and all of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. (You are probably wondering about Newfoundland and Labrador -- not to worry. Danny Williams will buy it lock stock and barrel and take it private.) Librovia's capital would rotate on a six month basis between Berkeley, California, Cambridge, Massachusetts and Toronto, Ontario - a solution necessitated by both the somewhat unique geography of Librovia and by the earlier selling off of Washington, D.C. to a Chinese destination tour company to help pay down the residual national debt. Librovia will feature strict environmental regulations, punitive taxes on anyone making over $50,000 a year... and mandatory Volvo ownership. The first President of Librovia? That's easy - Justin Trudeau, son and heir to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau legacy. He's as cute as a Kennedy...without all the baggage. 

NEW NEW FRANCE

The third, "white" entity (after the color of the fleur-de-lies on the Quebec flag) would be called New New France... and would be comprised of Quebec... the Arcadian and francophone areas of New Brunswick...as well as Louisiana. The capital in the summer would be in Quebec City; in winter, New Orleans. Civil law would prevail, as would the somewhat unique business and procurement norms prevalent in both major jurisdictions. The key benefit to Quebec would be access to warm weather in winter... and an opportunity to root for both an NFL and BCS football team. The key benefit for Louisiana would be unlimited access to maple syrup... and an NHL hockey team (if hockey ever resumes). New New France's first Premier? Either Mario Lemieux or Celine Dion.

PERFECT HARMONY

The beauty of all this is that like-minded people would be grouped together. There would be little discord or rancour. Everybody in Librovia, for example, would watch MSNBC or CBC...and belong to the Sierra Club. Everybody in Fredonia would watch Fox or Sun TV... and belong to the NRA. And in New New France they'd mostly watch Drew Brees... or "Iron Chef", en francais. Problem solved. Wrangling over. Cliffs permanently closed. Discuss...

WHAT TO READ? 

I am often asked by CEO's and other senior executives what they should be reading (besides the stuff they have to read for their jobs.) These are busy men and women who wish to stay informed and be able to hold up their side of a conversation not only around world events...but also regarding science, education and popular culture. My advice pretty much follows my own reading habits - The Economist magazine weekly; the New York Times on-line edition during the week (and print edition on Sundays); the on-line musing of Slate and the Huffington Post; and the printed edition of the monthly Scientific American. If you are interested in Canada, the on-line versions of the Globe & Mail and the National Post will do nicely, with the print version of Walrus magazine as a valuable monthly thought-provoker. (I also read The Chronicle of Higher Education and would love to add The Times Literary Supplement, but there are only so many hours in the day.) And when to read? I find the best place is in a plane or on a train, as you have fewer interruptions. But of course with the imminent introduction of wi-fi on aircraft (it has already come to the trains), that cone of silence is disappearing. Maybe under your covers... with a flashlight?

AND FINALLY...

I want to wish all of you... colleagues, clients and friends... a prosperous, peaceful and healthy 2013... whether you live in Heartlandia... Librovia... New New France... or anywhere else in the world.    

 (The views expressed in this blog are those of the author, who is solely responsible for its contents, including any errors, omissions or typos. For those worried about Hawai'i and Alaska in the reorg, Alaska will become part of  Heartlandia, allowing Newt Gingrich to see Russia from Sarah Palin's front porch; Hawai'i will become part of Librovia, allowing Justin Trudeau to vacation with the Obamas. New New France will abbreviate itself as NNF, as the full name will not fit on a postage stamp.)           

WEEKLY WAITE-O-GRAM (REL. 56.0)

FIVE THINGS AMERICANS JUST DON'T GET ABOUT CANADA

 Last week I delivered up a list of things Canadians say they just don't get about Americans - and if you missed it, just click here: http://www.waiteandcompany.com/theblog/month/december-2012  In the belief that turnabout is fair play (and that revenge is a dish best served up cold, with a sprig of jack pine), here are five things Americans just don't get about Canada:

 1. The Whole Kraft Dinner Thing - Americans are mystified by the Canadian obsession with KD. According to Sasha Chapman, writing in "The Walrus", Canadians consume 3.2 boxes of the powdered cheese and noodle concoction each year - 55 percent more than Americans do. It's bigger than poutine...bigger than beaver tails...and bigger than salmon, arctic char or northern pike. Americans figure the Great Depression must have never ended in Canada. What they don't know is that Canadians actually eat KD to prolong their childhood (if not their life expectancy.) And they won't give it up, even if they have a million dollars...

 2.  Parliamentary Democracy - Americans, used to badgering their local Congressman or Senator on every imaginable issue, are shocked when they learn that there is something called "party discipline" in Canada and that members of parliament, with very rare exception, vote exactly as they are told to by party leaders. Buckets of snail mail or e-mail from constituents back home count for little - the system reflects the results of an election, not the on-going and sometimes changing whims of voters in a district. (Warning: Americans will fall over in a dead faint if you relay the additional news that a Canadian political campaign typically lasts only 30 to 40 days...and costs, compared to US elections, about as much as a box of Kraft dinner.)

 3. Love of Taxes - OK, maybe not love of taxes, but Americans, even Democrats, can't quite fathom Canada's high tax pain thresh hold. It's not just the higher income tax rates, but then there's the VAT, or GST or HST or whatever the heck it is we're now calling the sales tax. Add to this the lack of mortgage interest deductions and, in the eyes of most south of the border, you're pretty much looking at Sweden...with fewer blondes...and duller knives.

 4. Weird Holidays - Americans sort of get Victoria Day and Remembrance Day... and they can live with Thanksgiving in October. But "Civic Holiday"? Or "Family Day"? Real holidays should be about battles...or dead Presidents! And the one they really don't get is "Boxing Day". Among other things, it just sounds so old-fashioned. "Cage-Fighting Day" anyone?

  5. Canadian Politeness - It's not just that Canadians frequently ask to be excused, pardoned or forgiven, even when it is the other person who has transgressed. It is also the lack of boasting, bragging or conversational volume and the general good-naturedness. It can get on your nerves, especially after living in New York or Texas. Even Canadian dogs, the Labrador and the Newfoundland, seem to follow this pattern of tolerant affability, making them perfect pets for children... Tea Party members... and others who have not fully matured. But the truth is that it IS possible to annoy a Canadian to the point of provoking an outburst. You simply utter the phrase "asymmetrical federalism"... or substitute his or her Labatts or Molson... with a Bud Lite.

  OUTSOURCING HISTORY

 My spousal unit and I spent this past weekend in Washington, D.C., visiting our son and some family friends. For those who haven't visited DC recently, there are some new monuments on or near the Mall worth a visit. One is the Martin Luther King Memorial, located on the Tidal Pool between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials (and not far from where he gave his "I have a dream" speech). The architecture is nothing if not arresting -- Dr. King emerges sculpted from a huge whiteish-pink block of stone... which has been chiseled into three segments. The rendering is powerful and imposing... and not to every one's artistic taste. A friend forewarned me that it was a bit too "Mao-like". I could see what she meant... but the comment was really driven home when the Park Ranger, in a subsequent talk... told us that the stone itself was imported from China...and the sculptor was Chinese! 

  A DISTRESSING SITUATION

 Just a few days before we got to DC the US Senate voted on a UN Treaty designed to benefit the disabled in countries around the world... patterned on the Americans With Disabilities Act. I was proud to see my old boss, Bob Dole, the co-author of that 1990 bill, return to the floor of the Senate to argue for treaty passage... despite the fact that he was recently hospitalized. Frail and in a wheelchair, Dole tried to convince members of the Republican party to vote aye on the measure. Some did; many did not. And thus the treaty failed to achieve the needed two-thirds votes to be ratified. A sad and unseemly rebuke to a former party standard bearer and life-long advocate for the rights of the disabled. 

  TOP OF THE CHARTS

 Clients are like children - you are supposed to love them all equally. Which of course I do. But one client I especially enjoy is Canadian Accredited Independent Schools or CAIS. Headed up by the dynamic and articulate Anne-Marie Kee, CAIS represents Canada's top not-for-profit independent schools, almost 100 in total. Recently I've been partnered with a marketing firm called LiQuid to help build brand awareness around a CAIS sub-group, their 28 boarding schools across the country. As with any well-grounded project, you begin with the research. One thing that emerged from that work is just how successful Canadian boarding schools are as compared to their American counterparts. According to Prep Review, which looks at placement (at what they define as the top universities in North America and the UK - the eight Ivy's plus MIT and Stanford; Cambridge and Oxford; U of T and McGill), five CAIS boarding schools would sit comfortably in the US top ten. Placement of course isn't the only reason to pick a school, but it does provide a sense of academic rigor. The Canadian schools are right up there with the Phillips Andovers and Exeters of the world. Something to celebrate.  

 MYTH-BUSTING

 The research that I found even more interesting - in part because I am a product of a boarding environment myself - is how much the boarding experience has changed in the years since. We began with a survey of Canadian attitudes towards boarding (which showed, among other things, that only a tiny minority had considered boarding for their child or children... or even knew the option existed). Then we matched up these perceptions... with the reality of boarding today. The result was a "myth-busting" speech delivered by Anne-Marie at an Economic Club of Canada speech earlier this year in Toronto. More recently, those words were translated into a clever animation which I thought you might enjoy: http://boardingschools.ca/parents/myth-busting/  Interestingly enough, overseas students (and their parents) are busting down the doors to get their children into these Canadian schools. Canadian parents... not so much. But the schools are here, gems seemingly hidden from view... in plain sight.

  AND FINALLY...

 Will the NHL lockout lead to a higher birth rate in Canada in nine months time... a higher divorce rate... or both? Discuss among yourselves.

 (The Weekly Waite-O-Gram has been published almost continuously since 1990. It began as a management communications vehicle at IBM Canada and has been cheerfully ported to places like CAE, CIBC and Canada Post. Today it acts as a blog for Waite + Co. The author takes all responsibility for any errors, omissions or flagrant faux pas. You may cascade or forward this missive should you wish, as it is in fact a somewhat subversive marketing ploy by a company too "thrifty" to employ the normal marketing mix.)