Virtual Fireside Chat
Date & Time:
Tuesday, May 5, 2020 at 4 p.m. EST
From winning the Battle of Scheldt, which kept the supply lines open for North Europe, to freeing the Western Netherlands, Canada played a critical role in the Second World War. Thanks to their resilience and fortitude, on May 5, 1945 at 4:30 p.m. the First Canadian Army Orders to German Commanders on Surrender was signed. The signed agreement marked the liberation of Holland from Nazi occupation and later the end of the Second World War.
On May 5, 2020 at 4 p.m. EST, 75 years later, we commemorated this monumental moment in history and paid tribute to over 1 million Canadians who fought in the War through an interactive Virtual Fireside chat.
Attendees heard from an esteemed group of Veterans including former Chief of the Defence Staff General (Retired) Rick Hillier, decorated WWII Veteran Captain (Retired) Martin Maxwell and former Invictus Games athlete Corporal (Retired) Kelly Scanlan as they shared their perspective on the leadership, teamwork and resilience from the war and shun light on how the lessons from the past can help us navigate the current global pandemic.
We also heard from WII Veteran Captain Martin Maxwell as he shared the importance of supporting our military and Veteran community. In an effort to raise more funds for military members, Veterans and their families, Capt. Maxwell has started his own GoFundMe page, which will help True Patriot Love continue funding programs that provide life-changing support to our brave individuals in uniform.
In case you missed the Virtual Fireside Chat, below you will find the full discussion:
Moderator
Peter Mansbridge is an award winning journalist, a Distinguished Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto and a member of numerous boards and committees. He is best known for his five decades of work at the CBC where he was Chief Correspondent of CBC News and anchor of The National for thirty years. He has won dozens of awards for outstanding journalism, has thirteen honorary doctorates from universities in Canada and the United States, and received Canada’s highest civilian honour, the Order of Canada, in 2008. He is the former two term Chancellor of Mount Allison University and is currently the President of Manscorp Media Services where his work includes documentary film production. He is also the author of the 2009 national best seller, “One on One”.
Panelists
Click on the picture to learn more about each panelists.
Born in Newfoundland and Labrador, Rick Hillier joined the Canadian Forces as soon as he could through the Regular Officer Training Plan and graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland, where he recently served as Chancellor. After completing his officer training, he joined his first combat unit in Petawawa, Ontario before subsequently serving with, and later commanding, the Royal Canadian Dragoons in Germany and Canada.
Throughout his career, General Hillier has had the privilege of commanding troops from the platoon to multi-national formation level within Canada, Europe, Asia and the United States. In 1998 Hillier was appointed as the first Canadian Deputy Commanding General of III Corps, US Army in Fort Hood, Texas and in 2000 took command of NATO’s Multinational Division (Southwest) in Bosnia.
In May 2003 Hillier was appointed as Commander of the Army and later that year was selected as the Commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Hillier was promoted to General and appointed Chief of the Defence Staff on 4 February 2005. He retired from the Canadian Forces 2 July 2008 after 35 years, three months, two days and 14 hours wearing Canada’s uniform.
In his new life, Rick focuses on leadership and charitable endeavours. Rick and his wife Joyce have two sons, Chris and Steven, two daughters in law, Caroline (Chris) and Amanda (Steven), two grandsons, Jack and Matthew (Chris and Caroline) and a granddaughter, Olivia (Steven and Amanda) to love. Rick and Joyce reside in Ottawa, often in Newfoundland, and, during those chilly Canadian winters, in Florida.
