Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY KEY CEREMONY
900 Pandora Avenue West
Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
(please check against delivery)
Fellow Manitobans, friends of a great organization, it’s a pleasure to join you in this special homecoming celebration.
As we congratulate families on their new homes here on Pandora Avenue, we remember that these homes and hundreds of thousands of others are on Treaty 1 territory and in the homeland of the Red River Metis. As Lieutenant Governor, I acknowledge that Manitoba is located on the treaty territories and ancestral lands of the Anishinaabe, Anishininew (ANISH-IN-INEW), Cree, Dakota, Dene and Nehetho (NE-HET-HO) Nation.
And I acknowledge that northern Manitoba includes 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 and collaboration.
Habitat for Humanity Manitoba is a beloved provincial institution that has been improving lives in our province since the 1980s.
Those of you who have children or grandchildren may have heard a song by another beloved Manitoba institution – Fred Penner – called A House is a House for Me. In it, Fred Penner sings “A hive is a house for bee, a hole is a house for a mole or a mouse, a bird builds its house in a tree, but a house is a house for me.”
It’s a song that taps into the feeling we all have, from the earliest age, that there’s a special place where we are safe and secure and have a sense of belonging.
From earliest childhood, we know that home is essential and not just in a practical sense to keep you warm and dry. Home is where we learn and grow and love.
And so this key ceremony does more than just mark an important milestone in the lives of the families that will live in this Habitat for Humanity development. It’s a reaffirmation of the importance of safe, secure and affordable housing for all.
Since 1987, as the first Habitat for Humanity organization in Canada, volunteers, partners and supporters of this organization have enabled more than 500 families from across our province – plus Kenora – to realize the dream of home ownership.
The unique combination of donations, volunteer labour, fund-raising events and the sweat equity of the new home owners turns a dream into the reality we see rising right here.
To all of those who support Habitat for Humanity – with cash and in-kind donations or by picking up a hammer or other tools – thank you for being the key to this key ceremony.
And to all those who will live here on Pandora Avenue, welcome home.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwich. Shalom
