Tr ans it io n FAMILIES IN CANADA MATTER VOLUME 45 , NUMBER 2 5 1 0 2 50 Years: Looking Back, Looking Forward © Aussi disponible en français Aussi disponible en français VOLUME 45 , NUMBER 2 The Vanier Institute of the Family 94 Centrepointe Drive David Northcott Ottawa, ON K2G 6B1 [email protected] Canada Board Chair Telephone: 613-228-8500 Nora Spinks Toll-free: 1-800-331-4937 [email protected] www.vanierinstitute.ca Chief Executive Officer, ext. 214 Lucie Legault Transition Editor [email protected] Subscriptions, ext. 211 Veronica Schami [email protected] Transition magazine, ext. 302 Vanier Institute Team Subscribe Transition is published quarterly by The Vanier Institute of the Family Jennifer Brownrigg Published quarterly since 1970, 94 Centrepointe Drive [email protected] Ottawa, ON K2G 6B1 IT and Operations, ext. 217 Transition is widely read and offers Canada Tel.: 613-228-8500, 1-800-331-4937 a balance of accessible, insightful www.vanierinstitute.ca Marie-Andrée Leroux [email protected] views and timely information on The contents of Transition may be reprinted for use in classrooms, conferences, program development, etc. with Executive Assistant, ext. 213 families and family-related issues. appropriate credit to the Vanier Institute of the Family. To subscribe and begin receiving Citation in editorial copy for newsprint, radio, television Nathan Battams and online media is permitted. However, all other rights [email protected] Transition at your doorstep or by are reserved. Please send any request to reprint material by email to [email protected], Publications, ext. 218 email, call 613-228-8500 or by phone at 613-228-8500, ext. 211, or by mail to 94 Centrepointe Drive, Ottawa, ON K2G 6B1. Sara MacNaull 1-800-331-4937, ext. 211, or [email protected] go to www.vanierinstitute.ca Subscriptions Networks, Projects and Special Events, (“Resources” tab). Printed copies can be purchased by annual ext. 219 subscription or by individual issue. Transition is also available for free download. Canada: CAD$35 (individuals) and CAD$70 (organizations/libraries) per year (plus applicable taxes) About the Cover US: CAD$45 (individuals) and CAD$90 (organizations/libraries) per year Vanier Institute of the Family 50th Anniversary Commemorative Medallion International: CAD$60 (individuals) and CAD$95 (organizations/libraries) per year To recognize and celebrate the contributions of For more information, call 613-228-8500 or General The Right Honourable Georges P. Vanier 1-800-331-4937, ext. 211, write to and Madame Pauline Vanier to families in Canada, [email protected], or go to the Vanier Institute commissioned a medallion, www.vanierinstitute.ca (“Resources” tab). designed by Mark Stephens of Imperia Creative and created by Aitkens Pewter, to be circulated to our partners and contributors. The image on the Please return undeliverable magazines for Canadian addresses to the Vanier Institute at the above address. obverse is an adaptation of a 1962 portrait of Their Excellencies by world-renowned photographer ISSN 0049-4429 (Print) Yousuf Karsh. The reverse portrays the many ISSN 2291-4498 (Online) diverse experiences of families in Canada. This Charitable Reg. No. 10816 8337 RR0001 image represents families supported by a Publication Mail Agreement No. 0040006500 foundation of love and care while embraced by the maple tree, symbolizing the strength of Translation the greater community – Canada. Contribute to Transition Sylvain Gagné, Services langagiers If you would like to submit articles or cover www.imperiacreative.com art for the magazine, please read our Design and Production www.aitkenspewter.com Denyse Marion, RGD , Art & Facts Design Inc. Contributors' Guidelines , available under the “Resources” tab at www.vanierinstitute.ca. © 2015 The Vanier Institute of the Family From the Editor Contents Milestones are a time for reflection and celebration. And what Looking Forward to the Next 2 better way to do so than by featuring content from people who 50 Years have worked with the Institute, past and present, while recognizing NORA SPINKS the 50th anniversary of the Vanier Institute of the Family? Just as the Canadian Conference on the Family in 1964 gave rise to the Vanier Institute of the Family, CEO Nora Spinks notes Reflections on Reaching 50 3 in her regular column that the Families in Canada Conference 2015 AL MACKAY will mark the start of a new generation of understanding, as the Institute engages in conversation with families and with those who study, serve and support them. Beyond the “Ideal”: Beryl Plumptre 5 There are many reasons for the success and longevity of the Vanier Institute, and the Vanier Institute’s Definition according to Al MacKay, co-chair of the Vanier Alumni Network. He takes a look of “Family” at the Institute’s many achievements in “Reflections on Reaching 50.” ALAN MIRABELLI Alan Mirabelli, Executive Director of Administration (retired), looks back at how Beryl Plumptre’s focus on function was key to the Institute’s development of its Beyond the Boardroom Table 6 definition of family in “Beyond the ‘Ideal’: Beryl Plumptre and the Vanier Institute’s ROBERT GLOSSOP, PHD Definition of ‘Family.’” For an insider’s look at the boardroom of the Vanier Institute, be sure to read “Beyond the Boardroom Table” by Dr. Robert Glossop, Executive Director of Research Looking Back: Alumni Reflections 7 and Programs (retired). He compares the inclusive and supportive environment of the on the Vanier Institute Vanier boardroom to that of a family dining table – appreciative of the wisdom and generosity of people from varied backgrounds, with different beliefs and perspectives, OFF THE VANIER BOOKSHELF 8 and from diverse communities across the country. The Family in Canada: An Account In “Looking Back,” Vanier Alumni members elucidate their thoughts, reflections of Present Knowledge and Gaps in and insights about the Institute and its work over the past 50 years. Knowledge about Canadian Families Cindy Graham reviews The Family in Canada: An Account of Present Knowledge and by Dr. Frederick Elkin Gaps in Knowledge about Canadian Families by Dr. Frederick Elkin in “Off the Vanier CINDY GRAHAM Bookshelf.” This publication was prepared as a reference book for the Canadian Conference on the Family in 1964 and offers a portrait of families at that time, looking at a variety of issues through a “family lens” perspective. General The Right Honourable 10 A soldier and a diplomat, the 19th Governor General of Canada was an influential Georges P. Vanier: A Life of Devotion and much loved man. Nathan Battams reminds us why in his portrait “General The NATHAN BATTAMS Right Honourable Georges P. Vanier: A Life of Devotion.” Take a step back in time with Dr. Carmen Couillard Bjerre as she recounts a day A Day with Madame Vanier 11 spent in the gracious company of Madame Pauline Vanier, one of the Institute’s founders. CARMEN COUILLARD BJERRE, PHD “Family Insights over the Years” presents a compilation of timeless reflections gathered from the findings and thoughts expressed in our publications and at our Family Insights over the Years 12 events over the past 50 years. A picture is worth a thousand words – and sometimes a thousand words can paint a picture. Sara MacNaull explains how the Institute’s “Family Is…” word cloud initiative Family Is... 14 reflects people’s thoughts about family from a variety of Listening Tour and speaking SARA MACNAULL events. What a colourful way to wrap up this issue celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Vanier Institute of the Family! As we have seen, a lot changes over time, yet topics of interest to families remain at the forefront for the Vanier Institute. Another constant is that your suggestions and comments are always welcome. If you have ideas for future issues or would like to submit something you’ve written – including first-hand perspectives on family-related issues or even artwork for the cover – please contact us at [email protected]. Veronica Schami Editor The Vanier Institute of the Family VOLUME 45, NUMBER 2 | TRANSITION 1 Looking Forward to the 6 2 9 Next 50 Years 8 9 8 4 6 k c o t NORA SPINKS A lot can happen in 50 years. Individuals, organizations and society are always in a state of transition, s g i B perpetually pushed and pulled by social, economic and cultural forces – and by the ways people and © institutions respond creatively to this evolving landscape. Today’s society and today’s families would have been difficult to imagine, let alone understand, a half-century ago. When we look at the “then and now,” the way we Much has changed over the past interact with one another is significantly different than it was 50 years ago, but the matters that occupy our 50 years, but the matters that hearts and minds – our loved ones, our relationships, occupy our hearts and minds dealing with transitions in those relationships, care, have remained constant. employment, household functioning, household management, combining work and family – remain constant. Throughout this time, families have been a opportunities for imagining and planning the future in stabilizing force, acting, in the words of Dr. Elise an engaging and thoughtful manner. We will need to Boulding, as “an interface between the private and the use all of today’s diverse data sources and innovative public.” This is one of the reasons Governor General communication platforms so we can interact with the Georges P. Vanier considered families an essential public in new ways, so we can “be the change we want cornerstone of society, and why in 1965 he established to see.” a research institute devoted to understanding them. We will continue to reach out to Canadians, This is a milestone year for the Vanier Institute of leveraging all of the means available – articles, the Family, and this edition of Transition is focused on reports, presentations, lectures, fact sheets, social the Institute, its roots and its work.