Calgary was the site of last year's CCNA convention. In 1999, Pierre O'Neil, Director-General of CRIC, delivered the keynote address at the awards dinner and evening. This year, it was the Hon. Bob Rae, former Premier of Ontario, who is a member of the CCU's Board of Directors and the Board committee that oversees CRIC operations. In his remarks, Mr. Rae discussed how CRIC and Encounters with Canada are devising ways to ensure that community papers are better informed about young people in their communities who participate in the program.
Weeklies come out ahead to the extent that interviews with young people are facilitated.
The CCU benefits by raising awareness of its activities in the weeklies' readership areas throughout the country. Each week has a theme and participants meet professionals in the relevant field. The students visit Parliament and other institutions in the National Capital. No more than two students are taken from any school district, meaning that kids from all over Canada get to know each other and come away with a better understanding of the country. More than 50,000 young people from 2,000 high schools in every part of the country have taken part in Encounters since 1982.