Canada's Royal Wedding Gifts

Here is a press release from the Government of Canada concerning the country's wedding gifts to His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton.

April 28, 2011
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement to announce the Canadian wedding gifts for His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton:

“I am pleased to announce the Government of Canada will make a donation to the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary in honour of the marriage of His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton. The Government of Canada will offer this wedding gift on behalf of all Canadians.

“The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary was chosen by Prince William and Miss Middleton to be the Canadian beneficiary of a special charitable fund that was set up to celebrate their wedding. The donation of $50,000 by the Government of Canada will allow the organization’s volunteers to carry out their mission, which is to offer—day and night—a permanent search and rescue program to meet the needs of Canada’s marine services, as well as to prevent injuries or loss of human life at sea. Through its search and rescue and nautical safety programs, this not-for-profit organization assists the Coast Guard and the Department of National Defence.

“Canada is proud to offer a wedding gift to a family member of our Head of State, Her Majesty The Queen. This gift was chosen specifically for the occasion and represents Canadians and the pride they have in their country.

“The selection of this worthy cause is symbolic of Canada’s affection for the Royal couple. Canadians are eager to welcome the Royal couple to Canada for their first Royal Tour as newlyweds and share the best of our great land.”

The Prime Minister and Mrs. Harper have also arranged for a personal gift of outdoor equipment for use when the Royal couple experience Canada's natural splendour later this year.

From June 30 to July 8, 2011, the newlyweds will undertake a Royal Tour of Canada, their first visit outside the United Kingdom as a married couple. They will visit Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and the National Capital Region. A detailed itinerary will be released at a later date.

For more information on the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, visit www.ccga-gcac.com.

Toronto's Genealogy Summer Camp 2011

There are only five days left to register for Genealogy "Summer Camp" in Toronto. Registration has to be sent in by May 1st.

From their website comes this news -

"The 2011 Genealogy "Summer Camp" will be number 15! More than 100 participants from England, right across Canada and many US states have attended the 14 previous Summer Camps - some more than once!

Genealogy "Summer Camp" is a unique program that brings out-of-town family historians to Toronto for an intensive week of tutorials and hands-on research, with the guidance of local experts, at the many archives and reference libraries in Toronto. We take full advantage of Toronto's great public transit system and we keep the group small to allow lots of help from our local experts.

Some tutorials will emphasize Toronto sources, but most repositories have holdings from a much broader area. Researchers with ancestors anywhere in Ontario will benefit from Summer Camp.

We've also welcomed many local participants as "day campers". It is an excellent way to get acquainted (or reacquainted) with the libraries and archives in our city. It is also a great excuse for a week of concentrated research.

This year's Summer Camp is scheduled for June 5 to 10, 2011.

For more information, please go to http://www.torontofamilyhistory.org/summercamp.html or send an email to info@torontofamilyhistory.org, or leave a voicemail message at 416-733-2608."