Canada: Voice

There are still large sections of the world where Canada means Eskimos, Indians and red-coated Mounties who look like Nelson Eddy. To right such misconceptions, the Government last week decided to toot a more unromantic horn. To replace the temporary Wartime Information Board, born in 1942 solely to publicize Canada’s war effort, the Government created the Canadian Information Service.

C.I.S.’s boss, said the announcement, will be young (39), smart, Nova Scotia-born Geoffrey C. Andrew, W.I.B.’s secretary. Son of an Anglican clergyman, he played ice hockey at Oxford, then taught at Upper Canada College in Toronto. His job: to distribute abroad ”information concerning Canada [because] those with whom we trade must know our . . . possibilities.”

If W.I.B.’s wartime experience is typical, Publicist Andrew and his staff (probably about 150 men & women) will spend a good deal of time answering questions. During the war, W.I.B.’s New York office answered an average of 50 telephone and mail queries a day. Typical questions: Has Halifax a good private school? What provinces can an ice carnival play in on the Sabbath? “Dear Sirs: Please send all possable infermeation as I need the infermeation for school thank you.”