Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
First Annual Muslim Legacy Fund Gala
RBC Convention Centre
Saturday, October 21, 2023, 6:00 p.m.
(please check against delivery)
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen:
As the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, I am pleased to welcome you here in the heart of Treaty One land, and in the heartland of the Red River Métis.
As we build and sustain healthy and diverse communities across Manitoba, we acknowledge that this province is the ancestral and the present-day home of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Dakota, Dene, Inuit and Métis peoples.
For all of us, our work of building a province of which we can be proud includes listening and learning, advancing understanding and working for opportunity, and healing for all.
I am happy to join you this evening in celebrating the Muslim Legacy Fund, the progress it has already made and the good works it is supporting in our province.
As many of us know, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
In a remarkably short time, the Muslim Legacy Fund has grown substantially, reflecting the generosity and community spirit of those who have contributed to this worthy cause. This evening, the first funding grants will be awarded to three organizations – the Canadian Muslim Women’s Institute, the Islamic Social Services Association and the Manitoba Islamic Association – each of which continues to work to support and strengthen the provincial Muslim community.
Their individual mandates may be different, but their intentions and achievements are equally honourable in striving toward the greater good. I am sure our fellow Manitobans would join me in thanking the boards, staff and volunteers of these organizations for their outstanding efforts.
These organizations, and the Muslim Legacy Fund itself, are valued contributors to our province’s outstanding cultural mosaic, reflecting the diversity and spirit of inclusion that add so greatly to the quality of life for all of our citizens.
Your dedication to your work, and the positive results it creates, will benefit Manitobans, not only today, but also tomorrow, and for generations to come.
You are making a positive difference in people’s lives and there are few things more honourable than that.
Congratulations to the board of directors, donors, volunteers and friends for your efforts in establishing the Muslim Legacy Fund and organizing this gala dinner. To you, and the fund’s first funding recipients, I wish you continued success and a wonderful evening.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwich