A Holiday Message from the President
Christmas is always a very special time of the year. It evokes a lot of different emotions and hope. One of the joys of Christmas, for me, is giving. Even when I was growing up in a fairly poor family, I always tried ways of giving and to this day I remember mostly what I gave as opposed to what I received. To this day, I still feel the same way.
The volunteers of this organization give a lot of their time in order to protect the benefits of their colleagues. They give all-year long and Christmas time is the best time to recognize and thank them for this.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I wish you a very Merry Christmas if you celebrate Christmas. For those who do not, I wish you the very best during this holiday season. And to all of you, a very Happy New Year filled with good health and success. I personally thank you for your encouragement, support, and good thoughts. These keep me wanting to continue giving.
Jean-Guy Soulière
A Holiday Message from the CEO
As holiday season approaches, we all tend to think back over the year that is ending. 2017 was, of course, Canada’s 150th birthday.
As I said last year, I have always celebrated Christmas for both religious and cultural reasons. For me, Christmas is the special time that I spend with my family and friends. Christmas 2017, though, has a special resonance for me because it is my 50th Christmas in Canada.
My family moved to Canada from England in 1967, and so fifty years ago instead of spending time with my extended family—grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins—Christmas 1967 was just my immediate family, in a new country with snow, and lots of it, on the ground. I don’t remember much about that Christmas—I was only 10 and we had only just arrived in Ottawa after driving all the way from Montreal to Calgary in the late summer and then all the way back to Ottawa by the beginning of December, but celebrate it we did, as we have since and we will continue to do in the future.
Christmas for me is a time of peace and good will. So, like last year, regardless of what you celebrate at this time of year, or whether you just put on a heavy coat and wait until the weather gets warm again, I wish you and the members of your families peace and joy, and a happy 2018.
Simon Coakeley