Respect Forum meetings bring together people from health and social services, all levels of government, universities, community organizations, and peer support organizations. Participants have the opportunity to talk about their organizations, the services they provide, the challenges they face, and their research and community engagement activities — paving the way to explore possibilities for collaboration. By-invitation-only Respect Forum meetings have been held semi-annually since the fall of 2016. With support from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund, the Respect Forum golds semi anual meetings in locations across Canada, from Victoire BC to Saint John’s NL. In addition we maintain an online directory of organizations dedicated to improve mental health and quality of life of veterans and emergency workers as well as their loved ones.
To create a network among organizations who support veterans, emergency responders, and their families in meeting the array of challenges, such as transition, mental health issues, and housing instability by promoting collaboration that improves the delivery of services.
In its fight against such phenomena as PTS and homelessness, Respect Forum activities are designed to promote collaborative approaches to service delivery, knowledge sharing, and knowledge development.
There is no membership in Respect Forum and all participants are the guests of the organizers. Each meeting requires an invitation.
Respect Forum meetings bring together people from health and social services, all levels of government, universities, community organizations, and peer support organizations. Participants have the opportunity to talk about their organizations, the services they provide, the challenges they face, and their research and community engagement activities—paving the way to explore possibilities for collaboration.
Lieutenant-General (Retired) Guy Thibault
Lieutenant-General Guy Thibault retired from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) on 8 August 2016 after 38 years of loyal and dedicated service to Canada, the CAF, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. He held a wide range of command and staff appointments within the Army, and at National levels. Upon promotion to Lieutenant-General in 2011, he served as the first Canadian Chairman of the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) in Washington, DC. This international organization is an entity of the Organization of American States and is the oldest regional defence cooperation organization in the world.
Three projects have been, in part, an evolution from the RF in Montreal. These are:
The committee monitors and evaluates the functioning of the Respect Forums as it relates to:
a) The neutrality (non-advocacy) of the Respect Forums
b) The invitation of prospective participants and the disinvitation of disrespectful participants
c) The implementation of communications with disinvited participants if required
d) The selection of Respect Forum facilitators
e) The functioning of the Respect Forums and the respect for participants privacy
f) The promotion of valid collaborations
g) The Reporting to participants and Founding Members
h) The implementation of the Fundraising Prospectus
Twice per year, following the Respect Forum meetings, the committee is to be assembled by telephone to review Management’s assessment of performance for the past Respect Forums and the plans for future forums.
The number of vacancies will be determined every two years and the necessary criteria to fill those vacancies will be identified by conducting a review of the committee composition and its continued reflection of balanced representation as articulated in the Terms of Reference.
This policy may be amended at any time and from time to time by the Board after appropriate consultation.
The Respect Forum Management, Forum Facilitators and the Governance Committee in the commission of their decisions and duties will subscribe to and promote the following values and principles at the heart of all Respect Forums.
The Respect Forum Program was established to promote relationship building and collaboration. In the complex landscape of service delivery to those suffering from PTS and possibly homelessness, competition between providers exists. The Respect Forums do not play a role in facilitating competition between participants vying to be the resource of choice. Only through collaboration, where and when it can happen between stakeholders, will we as a community find and fill gaps and achieve our common mission.
The following three key principles will ensure that every participant will be offered continued participation:
The Respect Forum Governance Committee will review complaints from participants and/or reports of inappropriate behaviour provided by the Respect Forum Facilitators and will determine an appropriate course of action ranging from coaching a participant to disinviting a participant for behaviour deemed by a majority of members of the Respect Forum Governance Committee to be out of alignment with Respect Forum values.
The Respect Forum Management directs the nature and format of communications delivered to the public and any or all stakeholders by the facilitators.
Public Communications will be undertaken centrally by the Director of Communications and the Social Media coordinator.
Facilitators are only responsible for the preparation of the Respect Forum report using the model provided. Site specific forum reports will include a brief summary of the highlights of the meeting, information regarding any presentations that were provided and a snapshot of the participants small group workshops. Where permissible contact information of the participants will be provided in the report.
The Respect Forum Governance Committee will ensure that external reports are provided to the stakeholder participants following each Forum.
Following the Spring and Fall sessions a comprehensive national report including the survey results, developed by the executive of the Respect Forums will be provided on the Respect Forums website at https://respectcanada.org
Respect Forum representatives in the commission of their duties will subscribe to and promote the following code of conduct. The purpose of this code of conduct is to provide general principles of ethical conduct to guide Respect Forum staff, Co-ordinators and Facilitators in meeting their duties and commitment to the Respect Forum mission and values.
All Respect Forum Facilitators and Coordinators must:
Stephen (Steve) Gregory, MSM has led IsaiX Technologies Inc. since 1989, a firm specializing organizational development and technology for sales. In addition, he sits as a director on the boards of two TSX-listed public companies.
In 2006 he co-founded the “3rd Battery of Montreal Artillery,” a charity which supports cadets and veterans. In 2015 he co-founded The Respect Campaign, which facilitates a national networking initiative involving forums in more than 20 Canadian cities. This network promotes collaboration among stakeholders who support the mental health of our men and women in uniformed service. In various capacities, he has assisted in raising over $3 million for the families of our troops and various community outreach initiatives.
Steve and his team of dedicated volunteers, organized 325-km marches across Sicily in 2013 and 2018 in honour of those who fought and died on all sides during Operation Husky, the Allied campaign in Sicily in 1943. Three Op Husky documentaries are now broadcast in Italy and Canada, keeping alive the memory of the fallen and the history of the Allied campaign. In 2023, Steve and his team of Sicilian volunteers will open the Walk for Remembrance and Peace (Il percorso per il ricordo & la pace), a 325-km fully mapped walking trail with accompanying historical descriptions, from both the local Sicilian perspective and that of the Canadian soldiers during the summer of 1943.
Steve is the former Honorary Colonel of the 2nd Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery and has been presented with Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal and commendations from the Minister of Veterans Affairs and the Commander of the Army for his work in support of our troops and veterans.
James Ostler served for 36 years in the Canadian Armed Forces as an officer in the Royal Canadian Dragoons, an Armour Regiment in the Canadian Army. He served operational tours in West Germany, Bosnia, Israel/Palestine and Egypt. He received his Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) for service in the pursuit of peace in the Middle East and a second MSM from the US Government. He retired from the CAF in March of 2017. Immediately following his release from the CAF, he joined the Commissionaires, Kingston & Region, as the Director of Business Development. He held this full-time position for five years. He then became an independent contractor with the Calian Corporation, providing simulation support to major Army training activities (part-time). He is a cancer survivor. He is married to Michelle. He is passionate about nature conservation, running, and assisting veterans with their successful transition to life after the CAF.
Drew Burgwin is retired after forty years in Emergency Health Services, beginning in Halifax, Nova Scotia, continuing through Calgary and, finally, British Columbia. He spent twenty years as an Advanced Care Paramedic followed by twenty years in management positions in quality improvement and education. He graduated from Royal Roads University with a Master’s in Leadership in 2000. He is currently the Western Region Coordinator for the Respect Forum, supporting facilitators in their efforts to conduct Respect Forum meetings in seven cities across western Canada.
Sandra’s journey has been anything but linear. She had a riding accident during a riding lesson in her youth and broke a vertebra. She was afraid to get back on a horse, but the need to reconnect with them proved vital. A psychoeducator for 30 years, she also became a trainer in aggression crisis management and violence prevention, then a mindfulness meditation teacher in 2021. Having worked her entire career in psychiatry, Sandra began a journey in 2009 that would lead her to horse-facilitated psychoeducation, a pioneer in Quebec. She has been practicing with veterans since 2017 and has been involved in the Respect Forum since 2018. In 2023, she became regional coordinator for the province of Quebec.
Bill Foster is an Assistant Professor of Strategic Management in the Rowe School of Business. He is also the Faculty Lead, Prince’s Trust Canada, which seeks to help veterans transition from uniform to entrepreneurship.
Originally from Oakville, Ontario, Bill graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in 1992 with a BEng in Chemical and Materials Engineering. He spent 25 years in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as a Tactical Navigator, strategic analyst, strategic planner, and instructor (retired in 2013). While in the RCAF, Bill completed an MBA in Strategy (2006), and a PhD in Strategic Management (2015), both at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
Bill’s PhD dissertation investigated the relationship between formal and informal social networks, and organizational strategy; this included network formation, activation and evolution, organizational change, and complexity, and used computational models and quantitative network methods. He is currently working with coauthors on three streams of research: (1) the relationship between social networks and (un)ethical behaviour in organizations; (2) the use of social networks in the decision making processes of family businesses; and (3) the role of social networks on venture decisions in entrepreneurial incubators. His most recent publication looked at the influence of social networks on sexual harassment.
Bill teaches strategic change and implementation to the Rowe School’s Bachelor of Commerce and MBA students, and mentors their 8-month strategy group projects with outside firms. He also teaches in the Centre for Executive and Graduate Education, where he delivers sessions on leadership and strategic decision-making, and is the Faculty Lead for the Prince’s Trust Canada Operation Entrepreneur, which is a 10-day intensive course for entrepreneurs leaving or retiring from the Canadian Armed Forces. Bill coaches the Rowe School’s Jeux de Commerce case competition team, is a member of the Dalhousie University Senate, and sits on the Senate Appeals Committee. Bill has three children (Emi – 15, Ken – 11, and Willa – 9). In his free time, Bill coaches with the Halifax City Soccer Club and serves as the President of the Suburban District Soccer Association.
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Robert Thibeau, CD is former Canadian Army Captain and a proud Métis. He enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) at the rank of Private and began his military career in January 1972. His 38 years of service saw him serve with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and was a paratrooper with the Canadian Airborne Regiment. He has two operational deployments overseas, Cyprus in 1978 and Bosnia in 1997.
In 2002 after attaining the rank of Sergeant Major, he was commissioned to Captain where he began working with his indigenous culture within the CAF.
Robert is the National President for the Aboriginal Veterans Autochtone and works to improve Indigenous Veterans issues and ensure equality of benefits and treatments. In addition, upon release from the CAF in 2009 he created an Aboriginal company designed to conduct awareness training and Indigenous cultural training for Indigenous courses of the CAF. He has established a network of highly respected Elders and teachers, some of which are Veterans, and with these extraordinary people delivers a very comprehensive training program.
