2016-17 ANNUAL REPORT The English Speaking Catholic Council Bishop Thomas Dowd Honorary Chairman Executive Committee Message from the President Vision Planning for the Future Diane Lemay To be a forum for Montreal’s English-speak- In the autumn of 2016, the Council under- President ing Catholics of all origins as well as a knowl- took a renewal of the Strategic Plan of the It is my great pleasure to present the ESCC’s Annual Report for edgeable, articulate and reasoned lay Cath- ESCC. After a process of consultation with 2016-2017. As you can see from our report on our activities, we Scot Diamond olic voice on matters affecting the vitality of the membership and stakeholders, and Vice-President have continued to sponsor programs, speakers and activities the English-speaking community in Quebec a half-day session with Board members, for English-speaking Catholics in the Greater Montreal area. Rafik Greiss and the common good of Canadian society. former Board members and the Advisory Committee, the Board recommitted to the Treasurer Once again the board organized the Catholic Community Ral- basic considerations and objectives of the ly held in conjunction with the Parish Vitality Conference orga- existing plan, with some small modifications Jacques Darche nized by the Office for English Pastoral Services of the Archdi- Secretary to the wording of the “Vision” statement. ocese of Montreal. Mission As a result of that process, the Council has John Zucchi also recommitted to certain strategic ac- I had the privilege of presenting the Bishop Crowley Memorial To act as a catalyst, convener and facilitator Past-President tions which include steps to raise the profile Award on behalf of the Council to Fr John Baxter. Fr Baxter of community life and collective action for of the Council amongst the broader com- was honoured for his work providing leadership training for the the English-speaking Catholic Community Board of Directors munity as well as steps to enhance Board youth of the community. of Greater Montreal (ESCC) and to develop engagement. The Council appreciated the Cristina Ardelean and advocate positions on issues of public help and collaboration of The Centre for Ferdinand Alfieri I also had the pleasure of attending a workshop on Isolated concern which affirm and promote Catholic Community Organizations (COCo) for their Mark Bednarczyk Seniors which was sponsored by the ESCC in collaboration with ideals and values related to human dignity, help in the organization and animation of Wendy De Souza the Father Dowd Foundation. It provided me with insight into social justice and the common good. Paola Diadori our strategic planning process. the problems of isolated seniors and what is being done to help William Kovalchuk Fr. Michael Leclerc seniors and their caregivers and I was able to see first-hand the Elizabeth McIninch* importance of the Board providing opportunities like this for Elizabeth McLeod the English speaking community. Danielle Morin Strategic Priorities 2016-17 Suzanne Wiseman The Board, Advisory and staff of the Council were very sad- dened to learn of the passing of Patrick Rourke on March 18, 1. Provide research and plan activities Advisory Committee 2017. Pat was a founding member of the English Speaking to improve the quality of life for En- Catholic Council and served as the first president. He shall be glish-speaking seniors. Address social Patrick Rourke, Chairman † missed not only by the Board but also by the larger community isolationism amongst English-speaking Warren Allmand † as he was involved in many of its aspects. seniors of Greater Montreal Area. Gail Campbell-Tucker David Dussault I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Executive 2. Collaborate with established networks Margaret Lefebvre to promote access to English-language Clifford Lincoln Director, Anna Farrow and our Executive Assistant, Suzanne health and social services. Mary McDaid Brown for all that they do for the Council. It has been a plea- Martin Murphy sure working with them this past year and with their expertise Don Myles and knowledge, I have gained a whole new perspective on the 3. Participate with community organiza- Harold Thuringer importance of the ESCC and the work that we do. tions and initiatives which advance the John Walker interests of the English-speaking com- Fr. John Walsh munity in Quebec. Robert Wilkins 4. Work with community leaders to wel- Staff come and integrate new immigrants and newcomers to minority-language Anna Farrow Executive Director community of Quebec. Suzanne Brown 5. Engage with community leaders and Executive Assistant government representatives on end of life issues. * Resigned † Deceased ESCC 2016-17 Annual Report Advocating & Networking Seniors the South Shore are de facto landing pads for many of these newcomers and have a unique The Council hosted two workshops in 2016 role to play in their integration to Quebec so- which brought together community organiza- ciety. The Council is aware of this, as well as of tions and individuals who work amongst En- the part that the Council can play in the inter- glish-speaking seniors in order to discuss the is- face between government, organizations and sue of senior isolation. The Council sought out parishes. The past year has seen the Coun- speakers who had initiated projects which tack- cil engaged on this issue. For example, the led this topical problem in both innovative and Council was invited to help facilitate a panel effective ways. In April 2016, Elise Campeau, a discussion, organized by the Quebec Com- social worker with the St. Antoine 50+ Senior’s munity Groups Network (QCGN) and fund- Centre and Cathy Macauley of SASMAD, spoke ed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to a group of 25 of their differing methods of Canada, at a pre-conference to the Metropo- identifying and assisting seniors in need. Par- lis Conference. This pre-conference was held ticipants then had an opportunity to network in March 2017. The title of the session was, A Vibrant Community and share. In November 2016, in collabora- “Faith-Based Organizations as Integrating Fac- tion with Father Dowd Foundation, the Council tors for Newcomers.” The Executive Director Catholic Community Rally co-hosted a workshop which presented a new was moderator, and Fr. Francis McKee of Jesus initiative of one of our partners, Seniors Action Light of the World Parish in Pierrefonds, Nor- For nearly 20 years, between 1983 and 2004, English-speaking Catholics in Montreal were hosted by the Quebec, which has been designed to enable bert Piché, Country Director of Jesuit Refugee ESCC at the Catholic Community Rally, with an additional event in 2014 after a ten year hiatus. Two years volunteers to reach out to and assist isolated Services and member of St. Monica’s Parish, later, in November 2016, in conjunction with the Parish Vitality Conference, the ESCC set about to host seniors. This was a well-attended event which and Alessandra Santopadre of the Archdiocese an event in which both well-established organizations and small, dynamic and new organizations would brought together seniors, volunteers, commu- were the scheduled panelists. have the ability to highlight and explain their mission and mandate to the community. The latest Rally nity organizers, and representatives of the Pas- showed an 18% increase over the 2014 number of organizations represented, and over 250 people came toral Home Care team of the Archdiocese. The Council was also represented by the Exec- to browse the kiosks, talk to the participants and to network. 95% of kiosk participants who responded utive Director in January 2017 at a meeting in to a survey rated the event as either “excellent” or “very good.” The Council is proud to have been the The Changing Face of English-Speaking Cath- Ottawa with the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees host of such an event and would like to continue the tradition in 2018! olic Quebec and Citizenship Canada). The purpose of the meeting was to increase understanding of the Celebrating our Leaders Public lecture with Thomas Cardinal Collins The ESCC holds a privileged position amongst activities the IRCC undertakes in Quebec and the organizations which represent and support to inform the IRCC of the breadth of engage- In an effort to showcase the people and orga- To celebrate 35 years of service to the commu- the minority language community of Quebec. ment which our community has with newcom- nizations which have made a positive contribu- nity, the Council held a public lecture in con- It has long been acknowledged that the face ers and immigrants. tion to the life of English-speaking Catholics in junction with its Annual General meeting in of English-speaking Quebec is changing. Of Montreal, the Council established the Bishop June 2016. Some 100 people attended and the newcomers and immigrants that are arriv- In the upcoming year, the Council will continue Crowley Memorial Award (formerly the Bishop heard Cardinal Collins speak to the role and re- ing in Montreal, 19% have English as their First to explore the areas where it can be effective Crowley Award). The award was designed spe- sponsibilities of faithful Catholics in a challeng- Official Language Spoken (FOLS). The En- as regards the issues relevant to English-speak- cifically to draw attention to those who have ing public context. glish-speaking parishes of Montreal, Laval and ing newcomers to Quebec. contributed to the community on a volunteer basis and who have gone above and beyond in their contribution of time, talent and en- thusiasm. The recipient this year was Fr. John Baxter, Parochial Administrator at Holy Family Parish, who was honored particularly for his role in the establishment of the parish and camp- based leadership program for boys of which he has been the driving force since 1965.