CPAC streams February 15th news conference for Canada’s second-annual National Kindness Week with Global Dignity Canada

Canada’s Second Annual National Kindness Week was celebrated from February 12-19, 2023, with the aim of encouraging Canadians to engage in acts of kindness, volunteerism, and charitable giving. The week-long event brings together individuals and organizations from coast to coast to coast to share resources, information, and tools to foster more acts of kindness.

To commemorate the special day, a press conference was held on February 15, 2023, moderated by Giovanna Mingarelli, Chair of Global Dignity Canada, and Olivia Bechthold, Executive Director of Global Dignity Canada.

This year’s live-streamed celebrations had a special focus on being kind to the planet and to each other, with Global Dignity Canada launching the theme of taking action for a healthier, cleaner, and greener Canada. From small actions like recycling to nation-wide efforts, Canadians were encouraged to play their part in making the country a more environmentally friendly place. 

The inspiration for this bill, the late Rabbi Reuven Bulka, founder of Kind Canada, started the first Kindness Week in Ottawa 14 years ago, and with the passing of this bill, Canada is now the first country in the world to pass such legislation. 

Canada’s Kindness Week was introduced as a private members bill by Senator Jim Munson, Bill S-223, which received Royal Assent on June 3, 2021, to become law in Canada, designating the third week in February as National Kindness Week.

Canada’s Second National Kindness Week Event

Representatives from all three major political parties, including Members of Parliament Michael Barrett (Conservative MP for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes), Emmanuella Lambropoulos (Liberal MP for Saint-Laurent), and Blake Desjarlais (NDP MP for Edmonton Griesbach), also joined in to speak during the event.

The press conference also featured Jamie Bell, a founding member of the @1860 Winnipeg Arts Program and member of the Our People Our Climate collective. Bell, who is a long-time volunteer with Global Dignity Canada, served as its Winnipeg and Manitoba Chair. Rev. Dr. Paul Luftenegger, an interfaith minister and acclaimed singer/songwriter of conscious music to inspire global love, dignity, and kindness, also took part in the special event.

Overall, Canada’s Second Annual National Kindness Week served as a reminder of the power of kindness to bring people together and create positive change. It was an opportunity for Canadians to celebrate the spirit of kindness, volunteerism, and charitable giving, and to promote a more compassionate and inclusive society.