Ottawa, Thursday, March 22, 2012

I would like to begin by congratulating all of the recipients of the 2011 Child Welfare League of Canada Achievement Awards.

I commend all of you for your dedication to creating brighter futures for Canadian children.

Now, perhaps you are wondering about me, “Who is this person, and why is she speaking here today?”

Allow me to introduce myself and to share my story with you. My mother was a social worker, and, as a child, I delighted in going with her to visitand help families, especially those on nearby native reserves.

I am, in my own turn, a mother of five daughters. David and I are absolutely delighted with our eight grandchildren and are expecting our ninth grandchild in July. We derive a great deal of mental and spiritual strength from having such a large family.

My early working career as an occupational therapist was in the area of child psychiatry. It was then that I became famous for baking cinnamon buns, which is a great way to channel negative energy and anger into something fun and positive.

Today, my husband, the Governor General, and I share an important role, which is to connect Canadians through stories during our travels. For this reason, I would like to tell you about a recent trip we made to Calgary.

I spent one afternoon at Avenue 15, a shelter for homeless and runaway youths run by the Boy’s and Girl’s Club of Calgary. There, I resurrected my bun-making talent with young people.

As cinnamon wafted through the house, I listened to the stories of my two culinary partners. Both are successful graduates of the Avenue 15 program, which, I should explain, started as an after school program for young children run by the Boy’s and Girl’s Club, and which then altered its mandate to help the exponentially growing number of homeless youth. 

The story I will share was told by a soft-spoken, shy, smiling young man who has managed to overcome great adversity in his life. At two years of age, he was placed in foster care after a horrific incident where his parents’ heroin needle went through his small foot. He was passed from home to home until he was made a ward of the province.

At 13, he turned to drugs and crime. It was four years before he found the courage to seek help at Avenue 15.

And thus began the reconstruction of this young man’s life. He learned how to live with others and about financial literacy, and was finally able to live on his own in respectable housing. These were the steps he took to being “launched,” in the parlance of Avenue 15.

Today, he has graduated high school and looks to become a social worker in the community, helping others like himself.

When I left Avenue 15, I knew in my heart that this young man was saved. The importance of his success and that of other troubled youths to our society cannot be overestimated. In fact, it is crucial to our nation.

My husband has outlined for his mandate a vision of a smart and caring nation, based on three pillars or themes—encouraging volunteerism and philanthropy, strengthening learning and innovation, and, most importantly to all of us here, supporting families and children.

Through your everyday actions, you are showing us how vital these three pillars are—you are generous with your time, bring learning into focus, and shore up our most vulnerable youth.

It is the story of my young baking partner that I think of when I look at you, because it is the dedication of people like you that inspired him, and taught him to trust others and, most importantly, to trust himself.

You also know what I know and what my husband knows: when we support families and children so that they might succeed, we are strengthening the foundation of a just society. Without your work, without your caring natures, our efforts to build a better country would have no base. Imagine a Canada that is strengthened through your kind actions—that is what you work towards.

And let me just say, those with strong families can reach out to a child who does not have the same. In my experience, if a child hangs around your dinner table, he or she may be sending a message: “There’s trouble in my home.”

One of the great joys of raising my own family was that friends with problems knew they could stay at the Johnston’s. 

You always have room for one more. You can provide a safe harbour.

The recipients of these awards come from all walks of life. You are on the front lines, working tirelessly to care for children. You work behind the scenes on behalf of youth, fighting for their rights. And though there is but one advocacy award, in my eyes you are all advocates worthy of praise as you work to improve the conditions in which we raise our children.

Every child—every single one—deserves to have a good home, deserves to have the opportunity to grow, and deserves to be loved.

I have said before that compassion is bred from passion. The passion that I have seen from all of you, and from Canadians across this country, has led me to the conclusion that we are a compassionate people, we are a caring people, and we will go to great lengths to protect our children.

As advocates, you are making a difference. You are an inspiration to all of us.

Congratulations once again and thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you do every day.