Hope is a viable public policy

How can we sum up the first two days in Manitoba?

After hearing from business leaders to new Canadians, from NHL owners to the homeless, there are more questions than answers. But a few themes are emerging even early in this journey.

We’ve encountered passion – passion for one’s community, passion for one’s career or industry, and passion to make things better. We’ve seen people with Winnipeg’s “can do” attitude take on initiatives that many thought would fail and see them through to success.

We’ve encountered drive – the drive to bring projects to life. Whether it be bringing an NHL team back to a city that loves its sport to building an affordable housing project so that a young homeless man finally has the security of a roof over his head each and every night.

We’ve also seen despair, frustration, and anger at some of the most complicated issues of our time – inequality among indigenous people, increasing crime rates, and homelessness to name just a few.

But one thing we’ve seen clear evidence of is the value of hope. By giving people hope, things can change and change tremendously. Whether it’s hope that the Jets will return to Winnipeg or hope that a few homeless people will be off the streets or hope that indigenous children will have a future, hope is a powerful motivator.

As one member of our group so aptly said: “Hope is a viable public policy.”