Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
COMMUNITY SHABBAT DINNER
Berney Theatre Foyer
Friday, November 29, 2024, 6:30 p.m.
(please check against delivery)
Friends – it’s a pleasure to join you for this evening of sharing and building relationships across cultures and communities.
As Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, I am pleased to acknowledge first that we are gathered on Treaty 1 land and in the heartland of the Red River Metis and that our province is located on the treaty territories and ancestral lands of the Anishininew (ANISH-IN-INEW), Cree, Dakota, Dene, Nehetho (NE-HET-HO) Nation and the homeland of the Red River Métis. As well, Manitoba includes northern lands that were and are the ancestral lands of the Inuit.
As Manitobans, we respect the spirit and intent of treaties and treaty making and remain committed to working in partnership with First Nations, Metis and Inuit people in the spirit of truth, reconciliation, collaboration and harmony.
Building harmony is a job for everybody who cares about a better future. And fortunately, it’s something we can all do through acts of friendship, kindness and openness.
The Asper Foundation Community Shabbat Program is a wonderful addition to the many activities that bring people together across our city and our province.
There’s something almost magical about sharing a meal. Across cultures and around the world, meals are used as a way to celebrate big and little occasions and to stimulate discussion and reflection.
And so, it’s a pleasure tonight to share the Jewish tradition, my tradition, of Shabbat with members of Winnipeg’s Filipino community.
We are coming together for this Shabbat at the beginning of the festive season in a year when the first night of Hanukah falls on Christmas. In less than a month, Jewish families will be lighting the first candle on the menorah just as many of their neighbours are carving a Christmas turkey.
When we come together to learn from one another, we learn to value our differences and see the many other experiences we share.
And this is especially true of the Filipino and Jewish communities. Early members of Winnipeg’s Jewish community arrived here in a time of rapid immigration, worked hard to find a place in a new country and in time this city had the most prominent Jewish community in western Canada.
And of course we all know how Winnipeg’s Filipino community has grown from the initial wave of immigration to become the largest Filipino community in Canada – playing essential roles in health and education, entrepreneurship and industry, the arts and all forms of community building.
Tonight, as we share this Shabbat dinner, we can share our stories and our dreams – and thereby help to make those dreams a reality.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwich. Shalom
