I am pleased to provide our report on the 2007 Canadian Student Debating Federation National
Student Debating Seminar hosted by the University of Ottawa’s English Debating Society.
Description of the week’s activities
The first day of the Seminar began with the travel day on April 25th. The organizers were kept
busy picking up the 74 student delegates arriving by plane, train, bus and car from all three coasts
of Canada: from British Columbia to Newfoundland to Nunavut!
Once the delegates were settled into their rooms at the Capital Hill Inn and Suites they had free
time to explore Ottawa and to get to know the rest of their teammates. Due to the regional
composition of many provincial delegations, debaters are often meeting their coach and other
teammates for only the first or second time once they arrive at the Seminar.
This year, delegates had the added benefit of getting to know their roommates and sharing space
with people from other parts of the country. After a long day of travel and sightseeing, everyone
was ready for a good night’s sleep. This was the trend for every night.
The first official day began with an early morning walk from the Hotel to the University of
Ottawa Campus. There were 39 delegates for the English language debates, 15 delegates for the
bilingual debates and 15 delegates for the French language debates, with local Ottawa students
making up the remaining spot in each of the three categories. A delegation of 5 students and 2
chaperons from Baker Lake in Nunavut were special observers for the Seminar.
After a light bagel breakfast, the Seminar Chair Amy Marlene Robichaud, a debater at the 2005
Seminar, welcomed all delegates. CSDF President Tanya Sturgeon brought greetings, with a
particular nod to the Nunavut delegation. Ms. Sturgeon’s remarks included a brief history of the
founding of the Seminar by Tom Lawson and Willis McLeese and mentioned that this was the
last spring Seminar.
Delegates then had a chance to mingle with each other, find their partners for the upcoming
rounds, visit with Mr. Lawson, and cram in as much prep time as possible. Just before the lasagna
lunch, guest speaker Karen Eltis, a professor at the University of Ottawa, spoke on the issues of
parliamentary democracy and reform. A lively question and answer period followed.
After the bilingual briefing on the rules, teams had their last chance to finalize their cases. The
rest of the afternoon was devoted to the rounds of Cross-Examination debate on the topic: Be it
resolved that the first past the post system be abolished. A pizza supper was followed by
workshops sessions. Students and adults had a choice: club building, improvisation, yoga, or
various debate skill development exercises, including case construction, clash, logic, and style
and delivery. The day ended with everyone receiving their pairings and a refreshing walk back to
the hotel. Students were free to socialize and prep for debates before curfew call.
A highlight of the day was the chance for Simon Lono, the Newfoundland chaperon/coach, to
work with the Nunavut delegation. They observed the first round – the very first time any of them
had seen a student debate! During the second round, they had a private introduction to debate.
Mr. Lono, who has worked in Nunavut, quickly bonded with the two boys and three girls in the
group. His enthusiasm was all the encouragement they needed to begin prepping for their own
debates the next day. They were asked to come up with three arguments for and three against the
idea of gender segregated schools. During final bed checks, one of the boys, Alex, heard Mr.
Lono’s voice and popped his head out the door to ask: “what’s a rebuttal, again?” He had been
hard at work writing his debate speeches!
The second day was very similar to the first, with another walk to the University of Ottawa – the
Seminar’s major sponsor. Bagels again were available for breakfast while debaters prepped their
final parliamentary speeches. Another bilingual briefing ensured everyone was familiar with the
rules, as heckling and Points of Information were new to many. The debate topic for the day was:
This House Would have more free votes in the Canadian House of Commons. Students debated
the first round, broke for a submarine sandwich lunch, then continued with the next round. The
afternoon offered a few choices for activities.
Despite the light drizzle, many of the delegates walked to the Museum of Civilization for a
scavenger hunt. Others visited a few of the other surrounding attractions such as the War Museum
and Parliament. The official representatives from each member organization met for the first part
of the AGM during this time. Everyone then returned to the University for pizza and an evening
of public speaking rounds. The first topic challenged the students to present a speech that would
win them the nomination to their party. The second topic had them passionately defending a bill
of their choice. Students returned to the Hotel to relax after another long day of intense thinking
and debating.
The third day brought a change in venue. Delegates boarded buses and traveled to Carleton
University. Once there, they received their partners and pairings for the impromptu rounds. The
final bilingual briefing on Academic style prepared them for a style that was new to most
competitors. The topics included free university tuition and mandatory organ donation. Debaters
had about 20 minutes to prepare and find their rooms. After the first round, everyone was treated
to guided tours of the campus and a fabulous self-serve lunch at a residence cafeteria. The final
debate round was followed by the third speech round. Following the speeches, debaters had a
chance to attend one of the workshop sessions they hadn’t attended previously. The adults met
briefly to being the nomination process for the CSDF Board election and were given a
presentation on “Tournament Host” – a debate software designed by a Canadian debate coach to
assist schools with hosting events.
Before returning to the hotel, everyone convened for the Rules Committee Meeting. This was a
chance for students and adults to bring forth changes to the debate rules. Only one adult and one
student per member organization have a vote, but everyone is able to speak for or against
motions. There were motions regarding the format of the speech event to allow for equal prep
time, removing plans in parliamentary debate, narrowing the effective scoring range to be 80 to
95 (all passed), and consensus judging (defeated). The buses arrived before the meeting
concluded, so it was picked up as soon as everyone returned to the Hotel.
Delegations once again had a choice of activities: most had supper with their teammates then
many went to the University of Ottawa for the evening social and swing dance lessons. This was
a later night, with a later start time the next morning. Everyone was on their own for breakfast
before heading off to Parliament for the day.
After a long queue through security, students settled into 200 West Block for a Parliamentary
workshop while the adults finished the last part of the AGM and re-elected all the current
members onto the Board. Elections will be held again in the Fall of 2007. On the way to Centre
Block for the tours of the Parliament Buildings, delegates had the unusual experience of climbing
a narrow spiral staircase that is part of the tunnel system connecting the various buildings.
Back at 200 West Block, a room with a grand history of diplomatic negotiations, students
campaigned for leadership roles while eating a submarine sandwich lunch. Special guest speaker,
Terrance J. Christopher, Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, moved the delegates with his
impassioned talk on active citizenship – his examples ranged from stories of soldiers in various
wars to the courage of Terry Fox, to what each one of us can do to honour the democratic
freedoms we have.
The rest of the afternoon was devoted to vigorous debate on the Model Parliament bills: a bill
respecting the rights landed immigrants to vote and a bill limiting the length of terms for
Senators. Concluding the debates, a quick vote was taken on the debate resolutions from earlier in
the week. As well, delegates voted by secret ballot on their top choice for French and English
Model Parliamentarian as well as top Male and Female Tom Lawson Spirit of Debate winners.
The afternoon concluded with the 4 English, 2 French and 2 bilingual speech finalists being
judged by a panel of the adult delegates, which included a representative from each member
organization. The finalist were asked to reflect upon their term as Prime Minister, at their
resignation speech. All results were announced at the banquet.
Everyone stopped for a quick photo shoot on the steps of Parliament before racing back to the
Hotel to change for the final banquet. The organizing committee was fortunate to be able to make
alternative plans for the banquet after the Governor-General cancelled all her events for that
week. The Press Club was beautifully decorated and served a delicious meal upon short notice.
Several special awards were presented, including thanks to Amy Marlene Robichaud and the
organizing committee for hosting and four McLeese Awards to honour volunteers in various
member provinces. A professional photographer was on hand to capture pictures of all the award
recipients with the CSDF trophies. Each member delegation had official team photos taken with
Mr. McLeese and Mr. Lawson – a true keepsake for all who attended.
The final spring National Student Debating Seminar concluded with a long and tearful evening of
good-byes. Delegations began returning home early the next morning and throughout the day. A
great benefit to staying in a hotel was the chance for everyone to spend as much time together as
possible before leaving. In addition to spending days exploring the Nation’s capital and having
the freedom to debate about our democratic institutions, delegates to the National Seminar truly
form incredible life-long friendships that will impact the rest of their lives.
The National Seminar is an unforgettable event for all participants.