Each issue Foundation Magazine provides a mini-profile of five people whose work and commitment make Canada a more liveable country. We thank them for their service.
Jane Hawkes is a co-founder, with Cliff Lonsdale, of the Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma and also serves as its executive producer and secretary-treasurer. She is an independent television documentary producer whose work has explored a wide variety of topics including criminal forensics, artificial intelligence, medical innovation, consumer health and safety, and the politics of climate change. Jane spent five years as Assistant to the Secretary-General of NANBA (the North American National Broadcasters Association). She joined Black Inc. Productions in 1994, based first in Hong Kong and later in Toronto. She has edited abroad for CBC TV News and others, filmed on her own documentaries in Asia, Europe and Africa and reported on Asian arts and culture for CBC Radio. She has produced six one-hour television documentaries and two four-hour series seen on The Discovery Channel and sold to broadcasters in over 90 countries and territories around the world. Jane served on the executive board of the UK-based International News Safety Institute from 2010-2013 and as its global treasurer from 2012-2013
Hers is a story of food equity with dignity. Local Chef, Yasi Zorlutuna of Guelph, Ontario, is creating a mobile solution addressing food insecurity and food waste, and bringing affordable food to your neighbourhood with the Community FEWD Truck In partnership with GNSC and with support from Our Food Future, Zorlutuna is bringing her long-held dream of a Community Food Truck that takes pre-consumer food waste — high-quality fresh produce and food items that are destined for landfill for a variety of reasons, including aesthetic, lack of space to properly store and process, etc. — and uses it as the resource it is with Community FEWD. When she recently won a Food Waste Innovator Award from Second Harvest, the SH CEO Lori Nikkel said. “Each of this year’s nominees and winners has made sizeable contributions to a vision of No Waste No Hunger and deserve celebration and recognition.”
Carla Toews, who started as a teller when she was 18, is now a project manager with Access Credit Union Ltd. in Stanley, Manitoba. She’s working with a technical team administering a merger with several credit unions. She attributes much of her success to the exemplary leadership training she’s received at the credit union. Part of Access’s culture is to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Another key value at Access is community involvement. “We support communities financially with up to three percent of our gross profits being reinvested in various charities or community clubs, for example,” Davey says. Two fundraising golf days on behalf of Manitoba’s Health Sciences Centre Foundation raised $112,000, he adds. However, Jeans Day proves especially popular with staff. Employees pay $3 a week to wear jeans once that week. With 97 percent participation, staff raised $150,000 for various charities.”
Dean Clark was hired as the Recycling Manager for the Gabriola Island Recycling Organization 2004 (BC). In 2014 a significant debate occurred within the community about GIRO pricing and its future direction. Also in 2014, thanks to a federal grant administered through the RDN, work began for a large new addition to house the Re-Store and provide a meeting room and office upstairs. The new addition was open for business in 2016 after three years of massive community support and donated labour. In 2019, the Board upgraded its website to support climate change education and action. The Board also purchased a significant solar panel project from Empower Gabriola to electrify GIRO and sell excess power back to BC Hydro. GIRO is a non-profit run organization and anyone can become a member for only $10 a year. A yearly membership with GIRO gives members in-depth access to the workings of this important community service, as well as voting rights for important decisions guiding GIRO’s future. GIRO is a self-funded non-profit organization. The majority of funding comes from the Re-Store, revenue generated from the recycling department and through donations.
The Honourable Steven Guilbeault is Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada. Recently, he announced the designation of Seacow Head Lighthouse in Prince Edward Island as a heritage lighthouse under Canada’s Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act. Located at the entrance to Bedeque Bay and the Summerside Harbour, Seacow Head Lighthouse is one of the oldest standing lighthouses in the Maritimes. The tapered, octagonal lighthouse measures 18.3 metres (60 feet) in height and was named after the walruses that were once abundant in the region. The lighthouse serves as both a harbour light and a secondary coastal light to guide mariners through the narrowest passage of the Northumberland Strait. The Seacow Head Lighthouse was under the administration of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, who awarded the new owners a grant of $222,500 towards repairs of the site, which came from a Grants and Contributions Program for the Disposal of Surplus Lighthouses, which is to facilitate sales or transfers of heritage lighthouses for public benefit.
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