SSVP CANADA NEWS - March 8, 2023

SSVP CANADA - March 8, 2023

NEWSLETTER

NATIONAL COUNCIL

HALIFAX SSVP 150th ANNIVERSARY

Congratulations to the members and the St. Patrick's Conference in Halifax (1873-2023)

What a beautiful anniversary, a joy, that St. Patrick's Conference has been serving people, in hope, for 150 years. Many thanks to you, the members, past and present, for your commitment to those in need, in the Halifax area.

In addition, the St. Patrick's Conference has been active and generous for 150 years, and continues to do so today, with over 500 visits annually.

Thank the Lord for the founding and outstanding continuity of St. Patrick's Conference, which has seen the birth and development of many conferences, including the Halifax Particular Council.

Bravo and thank you for sharing this exceptional page in the history of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Canada.

May your future activities be fruitful and filled with joy and hope.

Pierre Morissette, Interim President
National Council of Canada

To find out more about SSVP Halifax, please click on this button.

SSVP HALIFAX HISTORY

The St. Patrick's Conference in Halifax will celebrate their 150th anniversary with a mass on March 10 at 7pm. A reception will be held after the mass. All Vincentians are invited to take part in this celebration.

ELECTION - NATIONAL PRESIDENT

Once again, the time has come to consider candidates for the position of President of the National Council of Canada. Small changes have been made to the text published on February 22. We invite you to look at this article again.

The format, timelines and candidate eligibility considerations are as follows and taken from the Canadian Statutes and Rule of the Society in Canada (2.3.4).

Only members of Aggregated Conferences and Instituted Councils are eligible as candidates or nominators.

The Role and Responsibilities of the National President can be found in Section 2.5 and 2.5.1 of the Canadian Statutes and Rule.

The Election Committee 2023

NOMINATION FORM

COUNCIL GENERAL INTERNATIONAL

TALK SHOW WITH THE PRESIDENT GENERAL

A look at the day-to-day workings of the Council General International

The last Talk Show of President General Renato Lima de Oliveira was held on February 5th, 2023. His term of office is coming to an end and members asked many questions about his experience and resumé of these years, and others about his future within the SSVP.

SPIRITUALITY

REFLECTION ON BEING NEW

“No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; if he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts a new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but new wine is for fresh skins.”(Mark 2: 22)

Maybe not being a seamster or winemaker explained my difficulty over the years understanding these lines in the Gospel story until Father Francis Salasiar, CSC broke this down in his recent Daily TV Mass homilies. These images, he described, were used to show how Jesus and His teachings, including commands and sermons, are not to be measured and judged by old standards, rituals and traditions.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

GUARANTEED BASIC INCOME

The National Advocacy Circle is comprised of Vincentians from across Canada that are interested in Social Justice. Our intention is to identify advocacy issues for our fellow Vincentians and suggest actions we can take for the benefit of our neighbours in need. We are presenting a series of articles promoting the consideration of a Guaranteed Basic Income to address the needs of Canadians living in poverty. Please share this information with your conferences, councils and parishioners.

PROGRESS ON BASIC INCOME PROGRAM IN CANADA

Since the writing of our Basic Income articles, the Québec Government has implemented a Basic Income Program and Newfoundland and PEI are at various stages exploring the possibilities. Here is the latest news!

Who is eligible for the Quebec Basic Income program?

As of January 1, 2023, people that are already receiving benefits under the Social Solidarity Program and have severely limited capacity for employment for at least 66 months over the previous 72 months. They do not have to apply; they will be notified of their inclusion in the Basic Income Program.

As of January 2023, this program will reach 84,000 people.

TWINNING

HAITI – EDUCATIONAL PROJECT
SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL SCHOOL

The project involves subsidizing the canteen of a primary school in Haiti, attended by approximately 120 students from very poor families, and 7 teachers. The Jésus-Marie-Joseph Conference of Orléans, Ontario and the National Council of Canada have contributed an equal amount of $2,500 CAD per year to the project since 2014. The social justice committee of the Sainte-Marie d'Orléans parish is taking over financial assistance to the project in 2023; this project was subsidized by this committee before the involvement of the SSVP.

VINCENTIAN LIFE

SSVP IN NEWCASTLE QUIETLY GOING ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS

Orono Weekly Times
By Frances Mallon

The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is an international organization founded in 1833, with a mandate to serve persons in need. Different branches of the group take on various roles supporting people requiring assistance.

Q&A

QUESTION

Are Conferences and Councils allowed to undertake fundraising initiatives such as approaching Corporations?

ANSWER

A Fund Development Committee was formed in 2021 and we do encourage Councils/Conferences to look at difference ways of raising funds since we have seen a decline of funds raised at the parish level from parishioners. The Fund Development Committee has created a number of resources that can be found at Fund Development - Society of Saint Vincent de Paul - National Council of Canada (ssvp.ca)

The Fund Development toolkit found at Fund Development Ideas (ssvp.ca) specifically references a number of different fund development ideas to raise funds.

You do want to respect boundaries when seeking funds from Corporations and Foundations. Therefore, you should check with your next higher level Council to provide a list of who you would like to approach for funds to ensure that higher Council does not have a plan to reach out to them.

Feel free to reach out to Linda Dollard, Chair of Fund Development Committee , should you have questions or comments.

THE RULE

2.2.8 THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CANADA

The national council is the highest body and the official voice of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Canada. It holds one annual general assembly. The national council is composed of the following voting members:

the president;
the presidents of the councils under the national council’s jurisdiction, or delegates appointed by proxy to replace them;
the members of the executive committee: the vice-presidents, the secretary, the treasurer and the youth or young adult representative.

The national president, with the approval of the board of directors, may appoint a maximum of three advisors from within or outside the general membership of the Society who may participate in deliberations of the national council but have no voting rights.

IN CONCLUSION

We are always looking for Vincentian testimonials and conference/council activity stories. Send your stories to share with Vincentians across Canada to editor@ssvp.ca.

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Society of Saint Vincent de Paul - National Council of Canada

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