Image by Peggychoucair from Pixabay
With Remembrance Day approaching, I've been reflecting on what my years in public service have taught me about leadership, about Atlantic Canada (the region I call home), and about the women and men who serve.
In many respects, I was an accidental public servant. I spent years in private, think tank and not-for-profit organizations before government came calling, first on behalf of my home province of PEI and then federally, as Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs Canada. As the grandson of a First World War veteran and the son of a Canadian Reservist, I took that role to heart. What it taught me applies well beyond the department's walls.
People tend to define themselves by a single sector. I'm probably more defined by the in-between spaces, and I’m constantly trying to connect the dots between them. Whether I was working with a think tank, a premier or a minister, the work always came down to the same things: relationships, partnerships and collaboration focused on helping Canada and Canadians thrive and succeed.
I've also seen how easily leaders lose sight of that. Global turmoil and pressure on our institutions pull organizations toward tactics and away from the future they are trying to build. I've felt that pull myself. You have to manage the urgent, but the leaders who succeed keep the future state in view and bring their partners along to reach it.
I see that kind of leadership up close in Atlantic Canada. The region is an untapped and often unseen treasure. Entrepreneurs here have built real strength in core sectors like agriculture and fisheries and in newer areas such as aerospace, cyber and bioscience. Innovation now flows freely between and across sectors. We may not have the capacity of larger regions, but we have a nimbleness most can't match, and our leaders stick together and bring the next generation along.
I led Veterans Affairs from Charlottetown, as it is the only national federal department headquartered outside Ottawa. It is a department that does well to adapt new innovation to a core mandate of support and recognition for Canada’s Veterans. What surprised me most was who our Veterans are. When many Canadians picture a Veteran, they typically picture a senior. The average age of someone releasing from the Canadian Armed Forces is now 36 or 37, and many joined at 17 or 18. Many of today's veterans are young women and men with young families, and they need different supports than the ones built for WW2 veterans.
Afghanistan has shaped this generation of Veterans. More than 40,000 Canadians served in uniform there, and 158 lost their lives. Many of those Afghanistan veterans have now moved on into new careers and are thriving. However, around a third live with a PTSD diagnosis, and Veterans Affairs supports these Veterans, and many RCMP members as well, who are carrying trauma back home or after service. Historically, Canadians haven’t shown the open pride in service that Americans do, yet I watched that shift during my time at the department. People in every part of the country, at every stage of life, are now paying closer attention to the significance of service to our country.
What I wish more Canadians knew is how much veterans go on to build and succeed. After years in the chain of command, many want control of their own time, purpose and focus. I've seen them launch incredibly diverse businesses, building brands now known across the country. One veteran in Ottawa has built a go-to supplier of specialty olive oils and vinegars. Boot camps, pitch competitions and programs like Coding for Veterans and Helmets to Hardhats help them translate technical and trades skills into careers and ownership.
Veterans often don't see themselves as experts, but they most certainly are that. They bring remarkable passion, discipline and capability, and Canada's economy is stronger for it.
All of this is on my mind as November 11 approaches. It is the moment we stop as a country to honour the service that secured our peace, our security and the freedom to thrive in a democracy. The Vimy Memorial is on our $20 bill for a reason.
The ceremonies matter, and so does the sheer reality behind them. Every Canadian who has worn the uniform gave of themselves and put themselves in harm's way to defend us, to keep us secure and to protect our peace. I've spent my career in the in-between spaces, and Veterans know those spaces better than anyone: the move from uniform to civilian life, from one career to the next, from an active battle readiness to the quiet and sometimes difficult days that follow.
November 11 gives us a moment to stop and say thank you. Our gratitude belongs in the in-between days too, all 364 of them.
WATERLOO | OTTAWA | NEW YORK
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