January 30, 2023
The Empire Club of Canada Presents
2022 Nation Builder of the Year
Chairman: Sal Rabbani, President, Board of Directors, Empire Club of Canada
Distinguished Guest Speakers
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser, Canadian Olympic Ice Hockey Player, Assistant General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Resident Physician
Susan O’Brien, Chief Brand & Customer Officer, Canadian Tire
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau (by video), Prime Minister of Canada
Harnarayan Singh (by video), Host and Play-by-Play commentator, Hockey Night in Canada, Rogers SportsNet, National Bestselling Author
Kulvir Singh Gill, 1st Vice-President, Empire Club of Canada, Senior Strategist, Clareo
Kelly Jackson, Past President & Board Director, Empire Club of Canada, Vice-President, External Affairs and Professional Learning, Humber College
Tessa Bonhomme, TSN Anchor, Reporter & 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist
Loretta Marcoccia, EVP & COO, Global Banking and Markets, Scotiabank
Head Table Guests
Paolo Abate, CEO, HAVEN Developments
Kevin Au-Yeung, President, Nobis Inc.
Racheal Awe, Vice-President, Executive Integration & Chief of Staff, Office of the CEO, Canadian Tire
Lori Ann Beausoleil, Director, Empire Club of Canada
Michael Ford, Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism of Ontario
Parisa Kaur Gill, Secondary School Student, St. Mary Catholic High School
Victoria Mancinelli, Director, Public Relations, Marketing, Strategic Partnerships, LiUNA
David Olsen, National Chair, Board of Directors, The American Chamber of Commerce in Canada
Alan Polak, Managing Director, TD
Saurabh Popat, Director, Business Development, Ontario & Atlantic Canada, TELUS Health Public Sector
Sal Rabbani, President of the Board of Directors, Empire Club of Canada, Empire Club of Canada
Rick Roth, Vice-President, Ontario, Global Public Affairs
Pruyn Haskins, Scotiabank, Scotiabank
Benjie Thomas, Board Director, Empire Club of Canada, Canadian Managing Partner, Advisory, KPMG LLP
Introduction
It is a great honour for me to be here at the Empire Club of Canada today, which is arguably the most famous and historically relevant speaker’s podium to have ever existed in Canada. It has offered its podium to such international luminaries as Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Audrey Hepburn, the Dalai Lama, Indira Gandhi, and closer to home, from Pierre Trudeau to Justin Trudeau; literally generations of our great nation’s leaders, alongside with those of the world’s top international diplomats, heads of state, and business and thought leaders.
It is a real honour and distinct privilege to be invited to speak to the Empire Club of Canada, which has been welcoming international diplomats, leaders in business, and in science, and in politics. When they stand at that podium, they speak not only to the entire country, but they can speak to the entire world.
Welcome Address by Sal Rabbani, President, Board of Directors, Empire Club of Canada
Please take your seats. Good morning. Welcome to the 119th season of the Empire Club of Canada. I’m delighted to be here with you today. Thank you for your participation and support. This incredible community of colleagues and peers is a driving force behind our mandate to engage, debate, educate, and advance the dialogue on issues of importance to Canadians. Welcome. My name is Sal Rabbani, and I’m the President of the Board of Directors of the Empire Club of Canada.
To formally begin this afternoon, I want to acknowledge that we are gathering today on the traditional and treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the homelands of the Anishinaabe, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wyandot Peoples. We encourage everyone to learn more about the traditional territory on which you work and live.
Turning to today’s program, I want to recognize the Empire Club’s distinguished past presidents, board of directors, staff and volunteers. Thank you for making this event a success. The Nation Builder of the Year Award celebrates and provides a platform for extraordinary individuals building Canada’s identity and making significant contributions to the country. I’m here to tell you that every person in this room can shape our national identity and make Canada a better place. It starts by being the first to protect what matters most to you. And it evolves, as you begin to set examples of excellence for your peers, whether in academics, sport, or business. Finally, what unfolds is an influential individual who advocates for their community, and asks, how may I help. I hope today’s guest of honour inspires you to contribute to Canada in the extraordinary way that comes from understanding what matters most to you.
The Empire Club is a not-for-profit organization, and we’d like to recognize our sponsors, who generously support the club and make these events possible and complimentary for our online viewers to attend. Thank you to our presenting sponsors, Canadian Tire and Scotiabank; thank you to our major sponsors LiUNA, TD and TELUS; and thank you to our supporting sponsors, Cogeco, Equitable Bank, Fortis, OMERS, and the University of Calgary; thank you to our in-kind sponsor Humber College; and thank you also to our season sponsors, Bruce Power, Hydro One, and TELUS.
For those joining us online, if you require technical assistance, please start a conversation with our team using the chat button on the right-hand side of your screen. It is now my pleasure to invite Susan O’Brien, Chief Brand and Customer Officer Canadian Tire for welcoming remarks. Susan, welcome.
Opening Remarks by Susan O’Brien, Chief Brand & Customer Officer, Canadian Tire
Thank you, Sal. I’m thrilled to be here today, as we honour one of Canada’s most impressive and inspirational people ever, Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser. At Canadian Tire Corporation, we have a very bold brand purpose. As a company, we believe deeply that we are here to make life in Canada better. But despite our passion and our commitment, what we know is, we can’t do this alone. That’s why we’re very proud to partner with organizations and individuals who help make Canada better of their own volition. And there’s perhaps nobody more deserving than Hayley Wickenheiser of being recognized for doing just that.
Hayley built a better Canada, first as an athlete, inspiring the nation by bringing home four Olympic and seven World Championship gold medals. But as we all know, Hayley is so much more than a phenomenal athlete. Hayley is a community builder. In addition to being a role model for Canadians of all ages, she actively breaks down barriers to sport for all kids in this country. From her Canadian Tire WickFest World Female Hockey Festival to her steadfast supportive Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities, countless kids have fallen in love with sport because of Hayley. Hayley is an advocate. She represents the interests of her fellow athletes. She isn’t afraid to speak up for what’s right, including raising concerns about concussions or athletes contracting COVID19 in Tokyo. Hayley is a doctor. She’s a doctor who cares deeply about all our country’s health. And when I say all, I literally mean the entire country, as demonstrated by her valiant support of the Conqueror COVID Campaign in 2020. And above all, Hayley is a good and gracious human being. Even with all her accolades, from the gold medals to the countless Hall of Fame inductions, she’s remained humble and hungry to do even more. The reason that we’ve partnered with Hayley for 10 years now is that not only does she share our values of building a better nation, but she’s also an absolute pleasure to work with. But don’t just take my word for it. I’ll now ask you to turn your attention to this screen to hear what other Canadians have to say about Hayley’s achievements and impact. Thank you.
[VIDEO MESSAGE BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA]
Hello everyone, bonjour a tous, and welcome to the Nation Builder of the Year Award. Before I begin, I’d like to thank the Empire Club of Canada for hosting this event once again. Depuis 1903, vous avez créé un forum pour les conversations importants que tiennent les canadiens, et vous avez accueilli des voix imminants pour le monde entier.
Hayley my friend, you’ve inspired so many of us, both on and off the ice. Whether it’s your historic Olympic career, your heroism as a physician, or your incredibly generous self-sacrifice, putting your service to the Toronto Maple Leafs, you have an incredible legacy.
Pour tous les enfants du pays, vous avez montré que lorsqu’on reste motivé, et que lorsqu’on met du [indiscernible] a louvrage, et que si on vesti les heurs nécessaire, on peut réussir n’importe quoi.
In a world where there are no shortage of challenges, you remind our kids that there’s no task too big, if you put your heart and your mind to it. So, thank you, and congratulations on this well-deserved recognition. Merci, mon ami.
[END OF VIDEO]
Harnarayan Singh, host and play-by-play commentator, Hockey Night in Canada, Rogers Sportsnet, national bestselling author
Hayley Wickenheiser, such an accomplished individual. Where do I even start? Well, let me start here, by saying that, for someone who is a fan of yours, and someone who’s a hockey commentator, this is such a thrill, and honour to be asked to speak today. I was thinking about, you know, Hayley, your significance to Canadians all across the country. And you know, you are a woman who has literally done it all. And you continue to accomplish so much more and more, and it just continues to amaze all of us. You’ve been providing inspiration for so many years. And I remember, you know, watching you, it was 23 years as a member of the Canadian Women’s National Hockey team, all of those gold medals, all those World Championships, providing so much inspiration. Don’t forget about softball, too, right? I mean, when I’m saying you’ve done it all, you’ve literally—you’re Superwoman, and it’s amazing to see. And, you know, everybody knows about those accomplishments, even the induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
But when I think about you, personally, Hayley, I know and I’ve seen firsthand that you will show up to help anyone and everyone, no matter what the cause is. You’ve given back so much. And I’ve seen it firsthand through WickFest, the annual girl’s hockey festival that you put on. And I’ve seen the empowerment that those young girls are receiving, and the inspiration they’re receiving through all of your efforts, the time and commitment that you’ve put in to give back. But I also remember, you know, there was an Indian girl’s hockey team in the Himalayan mountains that we found out about. And you just put everything else aside and went above and beyond. So, raising money is one thing, but you flew there to the Himalayan Mountains and Ladakh, trained those girls, gave them a life-changing experience, and had them come to Canada to get some competition, and eventually to have them play in the International Ice Hockey Federation games and tournaments. And that is something they’ll never forget. And, you know, it’s a very amazing, historic moment on the hockey scene.
But the, you know, it’s not just hockey—and everybody here knows that, too. There are certain qualities that I think of, Hayley, when I think of you, and some of those are: courageous, determined, brave, talented, but also leadership. And you know, you just book wrote a book on leadership. And leadership is something that I really admire. It’s a trait that you, just, it’s glowing through you. And I can think back to even just recently during the pandemic, such a trying time for the healthcare system. And you know, you were outspoken, and you stood up, and spoke on behalf and in support of your healthcare colleagues. Something again, so admirable.
I mean, I have to mention also becoming a part of the Toronto Maple Leafs management. Just, again, providing inspiration to any young women out there that anything is possible. I also think of you as being so down-to-earth, so personable, so approachable. And when it comes down to it, I think you are one of the greatest representatives of our country, not only nationally, but also globally. And you know what, Hayley, when I think about everything that you’ve accomplished, who you are as a person, it’s amazing. And to leave a commentator speechless, it’s a pretty big deal, right? And yeah. I mean, that’s what, that’s what happens when I think—it’s, it’s almost hard to put it into words, because you what you represent is one of the greatest Canadians of all time. That’s what I think of when I think of you, to summarize. And I think this country is very lucky to have you. I think all of us are so lucky to have you. And congratulations on receiving yet another prestigious award, this time from the Empire Club of Canada. It’s so very well deserved. And I know I speak on behalf of so many millions of Canadians. We are so thankful, and we are so grateful for everything you’ve done, and for everything you continue to do to serve this great country. Thank you, Hayley, and congratulations.
Kulvir Singh Gill, 1st Vice-President, Empire Club of Canada, Senior Strategist, Clareo
Good morning—or yep, I can officially say good afternoon. My name is Kulvir Singh Gill, and I am co-chair of the Nation Builder Award Committee with my colleague, Kelly Jackson. As you know, the Nation Builder of the Year Award formalizes what the Empire Club of Canada has been doing since 1903. Celebrating and providing a platform for people who are building this country. We’ve been honoured to present this award to some amazing individuals and groups over the years, who have made significant contributions to our national identity.
It started in 2019, when the award was presented to the Toronto Raptors, and it was accepted by their president and CEO, Masai Ujiri. In 2020, the award was presented to Canada’s frontline workers who kept us safe during the pandemic—so, maybe Hayley’s getting the award twice, I think. And in 2021, the award was given to Chief Perry Bellegarde, First Nations leader and human rights advocate. The criteria to be considered for this award is simple, but yet profound. Impact, leadership, recognition, and activation. The winner of this award must have had a positive and lasting contribution to Canadian society. They must be an inspiring role model for all Canadians. They have a stellar, nationally recognized, internationally recognized reputation. And they have to have demonstrated an ability to mobilize Canadians to engage on matters that are important for the future of our country. These criteria aspire to capture what it means to be a nation builder and set a high bar for individuals and groups to be considered for this award. This year’s selection committee was comprised of 13 of our board members, who brought a diverse range of expertise and perspectives to the table. I’d like to thank each and every one of them for their dedication and hard work in making this year’s selection. Let’s give them a round of applause. I’d like to now invite Kelly to the podium to share more about the Nation Builder Award and why Hayley is a perfect recipient for this year.
Kelly Jackson, Past President & Board Director, Empire Club of Canada, Vice-President, External Affairs and Professional Learning, Humber College
Thanks Kulvir. When we received Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser’s nomination, we were immediately impressed by her leadership across a range of fields, including amateur and professional sport, youth mentorship and engagement, medicine, and supporting the next generation of women hockey players. Her accomplishments are impressive, and she shattered a few glass ceilings along the way—most recently becoming the first woman to be named and Assistant General Manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs, one of just a few women to attain this kind of role in NHL history. Dr. Wickenheiser has been on the healthcare frontlines as a practitioner, and as a force behind an initiative to secure and distribute badly needed medical and protective equipment to frontline workers in the early days of the pandemic.
Fundamentally, though, what stood out for us as a committee was the set of characteristics that Dr. Wickenheiser brings to her actions; perseverance, a commitment to lifelong learning, a willingness to take new risks, break new ground, and a dedication to volunteerism. Dr. Wickenheiser has accomplished so much to be inspired by, as an athlete, as a doctor, and as an engaged Canadian. I would now like to invite Sal Rabbani back to the podium to present Dr. Wickenheiser with this year’s award.
Sal Rabbani
Thank you, Kelly and Kulvir. It is now my pleasure to present the Empire Club of Canada’s 2022 Nation Builder of the Year Award to Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser.
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser, Canadian Olympic Ice Hockey Player, Assistant General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Resident Physician
Thank you very much Sal. And thank you everyone. Definitely, Nation Builder of the Year, very honoured for this award. But I’ve been a team sport athlete for my entire life, and you never, you never get these things alone. So, I would really like to thank The Empire Club, the board of directors for this honour; the Toronto Maple Leafs and Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment, Mr. Tannenbaum for the incredible support that I’ve had in my time with the Leafs, but also in the understanding that I’m also finishing a residency in medicine, and allowing me to do my thing that way; the University of Calgary, who I know we have some of the folks including one of my teammates, Carla McLeod, that flew here from Calgary today. I spent majority of my life, actually, at the University of Calgary, getting an undergrad and Master’s, and finishing medical school, and now at the University of Toronto. And so, I feel very fortunate to have been the recipient of an amazing Canadian education, and how fortunate we are in this country to have the system that we have in place. And then to be here with all of you today, who I think everyone in this room is a nation builder.
Yesterday, we lost an amazing nation builder in Mayor Hazel McCallion. And I just wanted to take a minute to just honour Hazel. I met Hazel when I was 18 years old, at the Kitchener Auditorium, in my second World Championships that I played. She came up to me after the gold medal final and kind of punched me in the arm, and said, "wow, kid, you’re tough, keep it going." And if you know Hazel, that kind of fits with Hazel and who she was. And I didn’t know who she was at that time, and certainly got to know very quickly. And for many, many years, would see Hazel at various—Hazel was everywhere—various events, hockey games. She loved hockey. She’s one of the reasons why we’re all standing here as Canadian female hockey players, the first Women’s World Championship in 1987, played hockey herself, and just was a huge promoter of women and women in sport. And so, what a, what a loss, but what an incredible life lived. So, I just think we should give Hazel a round of applause.
My lens in the last few years on life has been unique, both as an athlete finishing my career, and of course, stepping into medicine. And then the pandemic hit. And so, through the eyes of both sport and medicine, it’s given me the opportunity to see a lot of agony, a lot of ecstasy, in the last few years. I think nothing brings this country together like a great Canada-US hockey game. There’s nothing that I’ve experienced that unites Canadians quite like sport, and quite like hockey in this country. And so, it’s an honour everyday to go into the rink, and especially work for the Toronto Maple Leafs now. But to have lived that life as a very proud Canadian athlete, that anywhere you travel in the world, when people find out you’re Canadian, there’s just a little smile there, and how well thought of we are as Canadians.
But also, being inside the medical system, and inside the pandemic over the last few years, I’ve seen a lot of people suffer and have very difficult times. And in particular, the youth of our nation. I think in this country right now we have a bit of a movement crisis. We have lived a very sedentary existence here for the last few years, trying to figure out how to navigate, and our kids and our youth have really suffered. And when I think about the way forward—and all of you in this room as leaders and as great Canadians—we have to invest in our in our kids. We have to get our kids moving again. We have to inspire them, and we have to continue to bring our nation forward. And those are, that’s the next generation that’s going to do it. So, when I think about Hazel, I think Hazel had a quote that said something like, "if you do something that you really enjoy and you give everything you have to what you enjoy, it gives you a lot back out of it." And so, in honour of Hazel, in honour of the youth of our country, and the great, the greatest nation, I think, in the world that we live in, thank you for this. You are all nation builders. We are all nation builders. And we’ll keep Canada strong for many years to come. So, thank you very much.
Sal Rabbani
Thank you. I’d now like to welcome Tessa Bonhomme, TSN anchor, reporter, and 2010 Olympic Gold Medallist to join us on the stage. Tessa, welcome.
Tessa Bonhomme, TSN Anchor, Reporter & 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist
How much are you sweating right now?
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
You know….
Tessa Bonhomme
Are you guys waiting for the good stuff, or what?
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
She knows too much.
Tessa Bonhomme
I’m kidding. I actually just wanted to start—I had a good laugh this morning. My husband and I were talking, and he’s like, what are you gonna talk about? Like, how, is Hayley gonna be there? And I’m like, yeah. And he was like, how? And I’m like, it’s a very good question. So, I think first, to start this all off, I had a conversation with Hayley over text—because that’s the only way you can ever get a hold of her—it was between her and myself and Danielle Goyette. And I said, you know, what was your day like? And she kind of went on, she’s like, oh, between doing this to a patient I was sending video to Timothy Liljegren, and then I went back and made sure the patient was okay; and then I finished my shift, and I went to the rink, and I put my skates on. And then I think the questionnaire everybody wants to know—that I had asked you—is do you ever sleep?
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
Honestly fair, it’s a fair question.
Tessa Bonhomme
Just walk us through your day.
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
Yeah.
Tessa Bonhomme
Explain to people what you have done so far today. It’s, this is crazy.
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
Well, today? Today was—my days are very jammed. But this morning, I shot a commercial with Wayne Gretzky. And then…
Tessa Bonhomme
What did you guys do?
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
…and then I’m here with all your lovely folks. And then I will start my clinic this afternoon, at one o’clock, at the Toronto Western Hospital. So, I’ve had three changes of clothes…
Tessa Bonhomme
Right.
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
…jeans, to this, to my scrubs. So, it’s a typical day. I usually go from the rink in the morning to the hospital. I often work shifts in the afternoon, early evening, and kind of rinse and repeat. So, it’s not a very sustainable life. But it’s short-term pain for, hopefully, long-term gain in the in the future.
Tessa Bonhomme,
So, our conversation ended with me saying that TSN should run Inside the Life of Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser. She’s like, yeah, the title would be, My Life is a Tornado.
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
It is, it is.
Tessa Bonhomme
But you touched on it in your speech a little bit, and that is the importance of movement. And you know, how leading a sedentary lifestyle can have significant impact on the functioning of our body’s immune system, all of that. And you’re on the inside. You’re in the ER, you’re dealing with patients. So, what have you seen lately?
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
Yeah, well, the way I think about it, there’s a great—I think it was actually Clara Hughes, who’s a great Canadian athlete. She said once, you know, "movement is medicine". And to me movement is medicine. The way that we get out of this healthcare crisis that we have, our strange system—which it is, it’s an absolute dumpster fire every day, I won’t lie—is by being proactive. Proactive with our approach to healthcare, to movement, to exercise, versus the reactive approach that—what I do every day is treat people who are already sick, and we need to prevent, I think that. And the way you do that is with your youth. I think you promote physical activity, physical education. We’re lucky that we played sport, it probably saved all of us. Wouldn’t you agree?
Tessa Bonhomme
M’hm. Absolutely. Totally.
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
Yeah.
Tessa Bonhomme
And I think too, you can speak to this with our youth. I mean, what, if anybody has kids here, you know, monkey see monkey do". You can ask them to say please and thank you a-million-and-one times, but the second you drop an F-bomb, they repeat it 27 times. So, how important is it as adults, and as leaders, and as nation builders, is it for us to lead the way in that, and show our kids how to get it done? For instance, my husband and I just adopted after dinner, going for an after supper walk, and taking the dog out, and playing with the kids.
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
Yeah, it’s something. It’s so simple. I mean, we know that the cumulative effects of physical activity, you know, have downstream effects across every aspect of your life, and your health and your wellness. So, what you model for your kids is what you’re, you know, the research shows that if you’re active, your kids are likely to grow up being active as well. And those things are important, but also from a mental health standpoint. I mean, I think we were just chatting about some of the things that you’re seeing in the news these days about TTC, or what happened recently, you know, downtown, without horrible incident. You know, I see that. I think, I have not been in the business of medicine very long, but what I have noticed is there’s a lot of young people in crisis, really struggling, and not enough resources out there to help and guide them. And so, I think by, you know, getting our kids engaged—doesn’t have to be sport, just can be something—keeps them out of trouble. And that’s important.
Tessa Bonhomme
For some families less fortunate it is difficult to even find avenues, or have an idea where to direct. How do we continue to support and make sure that there are opportunities for those kids?
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
Well, I think one thing that we all know as athletes—especially as a Canadian elite, amateur athlete—if you’re not an NHL player in this country, your ways to make ends meet is creative to survive. So, you live on carding, which is, you know, we call it sort of welfare for athletes, the government money that you get every month to live on, it’s not very much. But the way in which you survive is through people, usually sponsors, endorsements, things like that, speaking, to get through your career. And in the same vein, for our young kids in our youth, investing in programs like that. So, I will, I will give a very heartfelt thank you to Canadian Tire, because when I came out of the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, I had a dream, which was to build a hockey festival. But it’s not just a hockey tournament. It’s like a professional development event for girls and women from the ages of 5 to 18. So, they play hockey, but then off the ice, they get lessons in education, equipment, nutrition—we even did like a mammogram thing for moms, and all sorts of stuff. We’ve been able to do it for the last 13 years, and impact 40,000 female hockey players across the country, because of companies like Canadian Tire, Talus, Gatorade, that have stepped up to believe in what we’re doing, maybe when it’s, you know, not going to give them the big returns, that you might think about. And so, it’s important, and it matters. And I hear great stories about these little girls all the time, of what they’ve gone on to do. And so, I think we’ve got to invest like that in our, in our young athletes and our youth. And believe, especially, in female and female athletes, and female opportunities.
Tessa Bonhomme
And obviously, COVID. It’s no secret, no lie that COVID has just had a crazy impact both on the mental health and the physical health of both adults and children. So, how has that, first of all, changed? I mean, I know you said you had just entered the medical field, but from the beginnings till now, is it drastic? And if so, outside of sport, let’s say, for the athletes—I see we’ve got a bunch at the table here, I was sitting next to one here—outside of joining very super-competitive sports. What are the avenues maybe we could do to keep these young women or teenagers—male, female, whatever it may be—engaged in feeling like they are a part of a community, a partisan thing. They do have, you know, a locker—there’s no safer place in my mind that I ever felt than in the locker room with, I’m laughing with my D partner Carla over there. Because it’s a safe space to go. It’s not clique-y like high school. It felt, it felt like somewhere where I could just go banter and be myself with my people. And I feel like if young kids stayed in sport longer or stayed in some type of organized, or had somewhere to go, whether it’s a pickup game or something, that they would be an outlet, and there would be that safety net that they would have.
Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
Yeah, for sure. So, a couple of things. I think, you know, just first on the, on the COVID front. I was in the hospital that received Ontario’s first COVID patient, the first one. I was there that night. And from that day—is it three years ago, now? —to where we are today, with dramatic difference. I think, you know, we’re coming through the worst of it. It’s far better now. We still see numbers every day, I still treat COVID patients every single day, I see people in the hospital with COVID. I wouldn’t say casual or cavalier about it, but certainly are, we’re less heightened than we were at the start, when we didn’t know what was going on, and we didn’t have enough PPE. Like, I couldn’t even find an N95 mask that night, when that patient came in, and now I carry like two or three other boxes. They’re all over the place. It’s amazing what we didn
