CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19976, 19 June 1928, Page 11

CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP

FOSTERING BRITISH IDEALS. MEANS TOWARD SOLIDARITY. DEVELOPMENT IN SCHOOLS. Canada's determination to keep British ideals of culture, sport and business in the forefront while it is welding into nationhood the conglomerate peoples who now make up its population is evidenced by the arrival by the Niagara yesterday of Professor W. F. Osborne, of Manitoba University, Winnipeg. The visitor brings with him invitations to New Zealand and Australia to send official delegations to a conference which will be, held at Vancouver in the spring of next year, when experts will diScuss the relationship of education to citizenship. The conference will be attended by about 1500 delegates from all parts of Canada and by official representatives from other parts of the Empire, and will be tlvc fourth of such a nature which has been held in the Dominion since 1918. "We believe the best, type of vcitizenship we can evolve in Canada is one which will emphasise among our mixed peoples the British tradition," said Professor Osborne. "In fostering that ideal the movement sponsored by the conferences has become a very powerful agency lor promoting Imperial solidarity without being too deliberately so. In these days, when the mechanical bonds between the various portions of the Empire are showing a tendency to be thrown over, it is of importance that we should do all we can to strengthen the sentimental ties. It is the earnest desire of the promoters of the conference that we should have a delegation from New Zealand and Australia which will give an emphatic Empire note to the proceedings. "The basic idea of fostering a high type of citizenship throughout the schools is expressing itself not only in its admiration of the British tvp« of culture, sport and business, but also 111 an attempt to promote closer relations between the British ana French elements in Canada," Professor Osborne continued. "At the last two conferences the Government of France sent strong and influential delegations, and the conference held in Montreal in 1926 was the most nearly bi-lin-gual meeting of a national character that has ever been held in Canada, the two languages being used in absolute parity."

Professor Osborne will be about three weeks in New Zealand,, and will then go to Australia.