Remarks by
The Honourable Anita Neville, P.C., O.M.
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
PURPLE GALA
Friedensfeld
Friday, March 7, 2025
(please check against delivery)
Fellow Manitobans, allies and advocates for women and families, it is a pleasure to join you at this special celebration of love and compassion.
As Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, I am pleased to join you here in southeastern Manitoba, on Treaty 1 land and in the heartland of the Red River Metis. I acknowledge that our province is located on the treaty territories and ancestral lands of the Anishinaabe, Oji-Cree, Dakota, Dene and Cree nations and the homeland of the Red River Métis and includes northern lands that were and are the ancestral lands of the Inuit.
Manitobans 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. And supporting institutions like Agape House is essential to that vision,
With International Women’s Day being held around the world tomorrow, I can’t think of a better place to be this evening than right here – celebrating the strength of survivors of violence and abuse and raising funds to provide more women with support and protection.
This year marks 50 years since the United Nations first marked International Women’s Day.
And on this half-century anniversary, we can look back on many important areas of legal, economic and social progress.
But we know too well that that progress has not been felt by every woman. This year’s International Women’s Day theme — “For ALL women and girls” – puts the emphasis on the word ALL in order to remind the world of that.
We know that gender-based violence continues to blight too many lives. Women continue to need a safe place to escape violence and abuse and continue to need support and counselling.
And we know too well that no place is immune. A small, beautiful community might seem as idyllic as the setting of a Hallmark movie – but it still requires the support that Agape House provides.
I know that the word Agape has a specific meaning in Christianity – referring to the expression of one’s love of God through acts of love and charity to other people.
But whatever a person’s religious beliefs, this kind of love is something that can bring us together in joy, hope and strength. It’s a love that inspires respects the unique value in each human being.
And it’s a love that builds and nurtures essential services like those offered by Agape House.
Thank you all for supporting Agape House and for organizing this wonderful evening.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwich. Shalom
