Mr. Michael Burns, Chief Executive Officer, Invictus Games 2017

The Empire Club Presents

Mr. Michael Burns, CEO Invictus Games Toronto 2017

Welcome Address, by Barbara Jesson, President of Jesson + Company Communications Inc. and President of the Empire Club of Canada

September 13, 2017

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. From the Westin Harbour Castle in downtown Toronto, welcome, to the Empire Club of Canada. For those of you joining us either through our webcast or podcast, welcome, to the meeting.

Before our distinguished speaker is introduced, it gives me great pleasure to introduce our Head Table. I would ask each guest to rise for a brief moment and be seated as your name is called. At this point, I would ask the audience to refrain from applauding until all Head Table Guests have been introduced.

Head Table

Distinguished Guest Speaker:

Mr. Michael Burns, Chief Executive Officer, Invictus Games Toronto 2017

Guests:

Mr. Paul Brink, Senior Vice-President, Business Development, Franco-Nevada Corporation

Brigadier-General Stephan Cadden, 4th Canadian Division Commander, Canadian Army

Ms. Cecile Chung, Member of Board of Directors, Invictus Games Toronto 2017

Ms. Vivien Clubb, President, Providential Pictures Inc.

Mr. Michael Cooper, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dream Unlimited

Dr. Steve Daniel, Team Canada Member, Invictus Games Toronto 2017

Mr. Lou Eccleston, Chief Executive Officer, TMX Group Ltd.

Mr. Stuart Hartnell, Chief Warrant Officer, 4th Canadian Division Sergeant-Major, Joint Task Force, Department of National Defence, Government of Canada

Mr. Matthew Kelleher, Senior Partner, McCarthy Tétrault

Mr. Eghtedar Manouchehri, Representative, Treble Victor Group

Dr. Gordon McIvor, Past President, Empire Club of Canada

Mr. Stephen Roman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Global Atomic Fuels Corporation

Mr. Mike White, President and Chief Executive Officer, IBK Capital Corp.

Mr. William White, Chairman, IBK Capital Corp.; Director, Empire Club of Canada

Mr. Blair Zaritsky, Chief Financial Officer, Osisko Mining Inc.

My name is Barbara Jesson. I am the President of Jesson + Company Communications and President of the Empire Club of Canada. Ladies and gentlemen, your Head Table.

We are pleased to welcome a number of students from Centennial College, the University of Toronto, the University of Waterloo, and Ryerson University. Thank you to IBK Capital Corp., Kreative Ventures Limited, and Providential Pictures Inc., for sponsoring our student tables today.

Students, please, rise and be recognized.

What a proud moment it is to be Canadian in this, our sesquicentennial year. What could make us prouder than the athletes who are with us today? Not long ago, a cousin in England found a photograph of one of our great uncles. He is standing in his World War I uniform with a small kitten curled into his neck, smiling shyly at the camera. Just weeks after the picture was taken, he was dead, lost to his family somewhere in France. Where did that young farm boy from rural England find the courage to go to battle?

Some intensive research followed the discovery of the photograph, and we were able to locate a gravesite in France. After some transatlantic discussion, a group of family members made a pilgrimage to Arras, near the Belgian border. On a Sunday morning, in late April, when the spring flowers were already poking out of the ground, we traveled to the small village of Hébuterne and for the first time in 100 years, family stood by the graveside in the quiet cemetery to pay our respects.

Leaving Hébuterne, we drove to Vimy, and it was only then that I began to understand what had been accomplished by thousands of young Canadian men like him. It is a place that I think all Canadians should see. Standing at the trenches, just metres apart, and climbing a steep incline, our soldiers pushed their way up to reach the ridge, which vividly conveys their vulnerability and the bravery it demanded of them. And 2017 is not just our sesquicentennial year. It also marked an anniversary for Vimy. There are many who believe that this was the forging of our Canadian identity.

A few weeks ago, I heard a CBC documentary about Expo 67, when our national exuberance played out in a great birthday celebration that brought 50 million visitors from around the world to Montréal. There are those that would say this was our moment in the sun, but I would say that never in our time as a nation have Canadian values been more important than they are now. We are not perfect, by any means, but in the face of so much that is wrong in the world, we sure got a lot of things right.

This brings me to the men and women of our military who are with us today. They carry these values and our tolerant, open view of the world to places of acts of war and military tension as well as to peacekeeping missions, sharing our notions of cooperation and collective good. They take with them a long tradition of valour and endurance shown on the battlefields, like Vimy, but, also woven into their genetic code is the joie de vivre of that Expo 50 years ago.

These two tropes come together in the tradition of the Invictus Games that will take place here, in Toronto, in just a few weeks’ time. What the Games tell us and remind those participating is that valour and war is one kind of bravery. What it takes to pick up and face challenge after a life-shattering experience is also a choice of great courage.

As the Invictus Games begin here, in Toronto, later this month, we are all reminded of what it takes to be courageous, to take joy in the agility of our minds and the vigour of our bodies, to embrace those Canadian values for endurance and pushing forward, despite injuries and setbacks.

The challenge of competition in the face of adversity. All those things are alive and well in our athletes and will be seen on the fields and courts during the competition.

I want all of you who are with us today, who will be competing in the Games, to know that we could not be more proud of what you have done for us abroad, and we will be cheering fiercely when you compete later this month.

Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to introduce Michael Burns, CEO of Invictus Games Toronto 2017, the largest international competition in the world featuring ill and injured soldiers from more than 17 nations.

Mr. Burns is co-founder of True Patriot Love Foundation, which supports Canadian military veterans and their families by funding programs for mental health, physical rehabilitation, career transition and family services.

In June 2016, Canada’s Governor General, on behalf of the Queen, awarded Mr. Burns the Meritorious Service Cross for his work with military families. In 2012, he was awarded the Canadian Forces Medallion for Distinguished Service, the military’s highest honour for a civilian. That year, he was also awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal honouring significant contributions and achievements by Canadians. If that is not enough, in 2010, he was named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40. He, too, has shown a kind of bravery in taking a leave of absence from his real job as Vice-President of Corporate Development at AudienceView to head up the 2017 Invictus Games. Please, join me in welcoming Mr. Burns to our podium.

Michael Burns

Thank you, Barbara, for that kind introduction. It is great to be here. We are ten days away from the start of the Invictus Games, but who is counting? Are you excited?

First of all, I would be remiss if I did not ask all those who have and are serving in the Canadian Armed Forces today, if they can, to, please, stand and be recognized.

For two years we have been building and scaling and getting ready for these Games. It takes a lot of great partners, a lot of people, in order to be able to pull off and deliver an international competition. What I would like to do is recognize a couple of those who are helping us to do what we intend to do next week, and General Steve Cadden of the Canadian Armed Forces has been unbelievable in his support in the delivery of these Games. General, we want to thank you and the Canadian Armed Forces for helping us do what we have intended to do. Thank you, sir.

We have had incredible support from all three levels of government, including the Province of Ontario. I know that the Senior Policy Advisor for Premier Wynne is here today, James Janeiro. James, from the very beginning, your government and your boss, Premier Wynne, have been unbelievable in your support for the support for these Games, and we want to thank you and the Province of Ontario for all of your work. Thank you.

Of course, I always think it is good for your employment if you thank the people that you report to. We could not ask for a better board. Delighted to have Michael Cooper, Cecile Chung and Matt Kelleher here today. Our board, our leadership team, has been incredible. We are so thankful for the support that they have provided us and the leadership, and we are excited to be delivering these Games with them next week. Thank you so much.

Let me start with a simple question. How many people here remember the Hollywood hit film that starred Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman and was about the 1995 South African world championship rugby team that was called Invictus? Show of hands. A good number of you have seen it. For all of those who have seen it, and for those who have not, I want you to know that our Games have nothing to do with that movie. What we do have in common, obviously, is the word ‘Invictus’. We are often asked what it means. It is Latin for ‘unconquered’. It also happens to be the name of a very famous poem that was written in 1875 by an Englishman by the name of William Henley. It is a poem that has been used since that time by world leaders, the likes of Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, former President Barack Obama. It was also a poem that Nelson Mandela read to himself every day and to his fellow prisoners while he was incarcerated for more than 20 years on Robben Island.

It is a beautiful poem, but the last two lines probably are the ones that are most memorable, and they read, “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”

If you spoke to any one of us that is helping to deliver these Games, we would say that those two lines really represent the spirit, the ethos, the drive, the competition of those who will be coming to Toronto later this month to compete in these Games. And we would say that, despite everything that has been thrown at them, despite the challenges that they have had to face as a result of their military service, they remain unconquered competitors like former member of the Canadian Armed Forces Natacha Dupuis, who did multiple tours in Afghanistan. On one of those tours, two of her best friends were killed in a roadside bomb. Natacha also happened to be first on the scene. Since that time, she has been dealing with operational stress injury. As you can see, here, she suited up for Canada in last year’s Invictus Games in Orlando and went on to win three medals, including a gold in the 100-metre dash. She will be back this year representing her country as one of our co-captains. Natacha is Invictus.

Steve Daniel, also a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces, did multiple tours in Bosnia, as well as in Afghanistan, and every time he came back to his family and friends without a scratch. In 2005, in a training accident, he was paralyzed from the waist down. Three years later, he was competing for Canada in the Paralympics in Beijing. Last year, as you can see here in the photo, he was representing Team Canada at the Invictus Games in Orlando in rowing. He will be suiting up again this September to represent his country, again, in the Invictus Games.

Also, about three months ago, Steve graduated from the medical faculty at Laurentian University. Ladies and gentlemen, it is an honour to have Dr. Steve Daniel with us today.

Anybody recognize this guy? Ladies? That is what I thought. What you might not know about Prince Harry is Prince Harry is also a veteran of the British Armed Forces. He served more than ten years for his country. He knows, as well as anyone, what the challenges and life can be like for a soldier, and, certainly, he knows of the unique challenges that military families face. It was after his retirement in 2013 that he was invited to the Warrior Games. I would describe it as sort of a smaller version of the Invictus Games that will be happening here in September, but it is for about four or five hundred ill and injured service members, veterans of the American Armed Forces.

It was during his time at the Warrior Games in Colorado, that year, that he saw for the first time the impact that adaptive sport can have on the competitors and on the family and friends who are there to cheer them on. He went back to London after that experience, pulled his team together and said, “We have got to do this for our men and women, but let us make it an international competition. Let us invite the Canadians, the Americans, the Aussies, the Italians and the French, and many others, and have them bring their service members, their veterans and their families to a competition in London.”

At the time, as Barbara mentioned, I was involved with something called the True Patriot Love Foundation, which for almost a decade has been raising great awareness and support for military families across the country.

Two of our board members went over to find out what all the excitement and buzz was about. When they came back, they had lots to report on. Some of the things that they said was that the experience of these competitors and their family and friends was exceptional, that the public appetite for these Games is enormous. The people were not there just for the opening and closing ceremonies, but they were there to cheer on the competitors and their family and friends through the preliminaries and the final rounds.

The media appetite for these Games was overwhelming such that this small domestic event became an international sensation almost overnight. What we also learned was that the Prince wanted these Games to live on, and he wanted other nations to host future games. We took it upon ourselves to go out and make our case that Canada should host the Games in 2017. I remember in June of 2015, when we were all huddled in the boardroom together, when news came in that we had secured the Games for 2017. It was amazing because we all had the exact same reaction at the exact same time, which was, “Oh shit, be careful what you ask for.”

I will tell you that as I was reminded by one of the many millennials that we have hired— and they are an interesting bunch who are very tech savvy and know social media better than I—came over to me the other day and said, “You know, Mr. Burns, I was just counting up and doing the analysis here in the office, and it says that we have got 150 games’ experience.” I said, “That is amazing.” He said, “You know what the analysis tells us?” I said, “What does it tell us?” “It says you contribute zero to that number.” Suffice it to say, he is looking for new work.

It would have been very easy for us, at that time, to jump into the what and the how, but what we decided to do was to go back and answer the question why. Why did we go out and secure the Games for 2017? Why would anyone decide to work or volunteer at the organization? Why would government or the private sector get behind and support these Games? Why would people buy tickets and show up at these Games when they are on?

We went through this elaborate exercise. It is much deeper than the seven words that you see on the screen, but we tried to answer it in seven words or less. Where we landed was transforming empathy into empowerment. Often, when we are in front of groups like this, today, or other organizations across the country or individual meetings, people often say, “Boy, that sounds great, but what does it mean in the context of the Games?” I think, if you look on the screen, you will recognize that that is one of the bridges along the Highway of Heroes. There are 22 of them from Trenton to downtown Toronto. I think that they best describe what we are trying to achieve in these Games.

As you know, 158 times, Canadians came out of their homes, walked out of their places of work, left their schools, their churches, their synagogues, their mosques, and they lined those bridges. Those bridges were not brought to you by Canadian Tire or Tim Hortons. This was an organic movement the likes of which the country has rarely ever seen.

If you had taken a next interview, and you would have asked any one of those Canadians why they were there, they would use words like ‘service’, ‘patriotism’, ‘honour’, ‘sacrifice’, but, really, what they are getting at or what they are trying to describe is that they have empathy, that they are trying to understand what it would be like to be part of a military family who may have just lost a son or a daughter, a husband or a wife, an aunt or an uncle.

What these Games are going to allow us to do is to tap into that latent empathy that we know stretches much longer than the Highway of Heroes. In fact, it stretches to every corner of this country, to give Canadians an opportunity, through the Invictus Games, to turn that empathy into action. Whether it is making a donation to support the Games, whether it is doing something in your local community to help our military families, whether it is buying a ticket and being at the Games to cheer on these families, we have an unprecedented opportunity in our sesquicentennial to turn that empathy into meaningful action for our families.

What will our Games look like? We have the third edition, which builds on the legacy and the success of London and Orlando. We have got 17 nations, 550 competitors, which makes it the largest Games to date. Every one of those competitors is allowed to bring two members of their family and two friends to join them on the Invictus journey.

We are expecting, now, more than 900 accredited media and broadcasters who will be here in the city to follow these Games and the incredible stories of these men and women who will be competing. This is not just going to be a massive domestic story; it is going to be a huge international story. We have got 12 sports, more than 8,000 people coming in to take part in these Games, and we have recruited 1,800 volunteers to help deliver these Games.

You will hear a lot about military families; you will read a lot about the focus of military families in these Games, and there is a great saying in the military that the soldier enlists because that is what he or she wants to do for their profession, but it is the family that gets conscripted. We want to make sure that the family has an equally excellent experience throughout the Invictus journey. That is why we have got them all downtown across the street from Nathan Phillips Square at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. It is really going to become our athletes’ village and a place of activation, excitement and an opportunity for family and friends to enjoy the Invictus Games together.

We have world-class venues that are ready and primed to host these Games, thanks to the billions of dollars that were spent by our federal government and our provincial government to host the Pan Am, Parapan Games. We have become probably one of the largest beneficiaries of that infrastructure spent. We will be hosting events out in Scarborough at the Aquatic Centre; the track and field at York University; and we will be using the old Maple Leaf Gardens at Ryerson University as a major hub of sporting activity. We are also going to be using some of the natural assets that the city has. We will be draining the reflective pool at City Hall to stage wheelchair tennis. We will be having outdoor archery at Fort York, and we will be using High Park for cycling.

This city, no matter where you are going to be, is going to be electrifying, and it is going to be exciting.

We also saw these Games as an opportunity much bigger than just an adaptive sport, but an opportunity for us, not to engage thousands, but millions of young people. Through our partnership with Rick Hansen as well WE Day, we have been able to reach millions of young people and curricula that is in close to 10,000 schools across the country today. Teachers having curricula to not only talk about these Games and what they are about and the impact that they are making, but also an opportunity for us to talk about our modern-day contributions, but also what our military and our families have been doing since Confederation 150 years ago through the Boer Wars, the Great Wars—also in Korea as well as Iraq. We also saw this as an opportunity to highlight some of the great research innovation that is happening across Canada and the world. We have partnered with the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research to bring close to 1,000 researchers, academics, clinicians and others whose primary work is on the physical and mental health of our military veterans and their families. Imagine, the very people who are coming up with new drugs, with new therapies, the leading advances in prosthetic technology here in Toronto to share their findings, their evidence and to be able to cheer on the very families that they are helping.

We also see the Games as an opportunity to show our service members and veterans the types of opportunities that there are in the private sector after service.

We have a number of companies—in fact, more than 60— who have stepped up to support these Games. Many of them have mandates to hire veterans—why not showcase that? For two days at the back end of the week, we will be hosting a career summit at the Sheraton Centre Hotel for service members who will be competing in these Games, as well as others, to see what opportunities there are after service.

As you know, Prince Harry has a long history in his family with the Anglican Church. We thought it would be very important to also highlight the historic connection that faith and our military has had, as well as other militaries around the world. Just before the Games, the Anglican Church at the cathedral here, in Toronto, will be hosting a multi-faith celebration, bringing together faith leaders from Catholics to Anglicans, to Hindus, Sikhs, Jews and Muslims in front of a congregation of service members, veterans and the public to thank those men and women for protecting our rights and freedoms, including the right to worship.

The backdrop will not just be the beginning of the Invictus Games, but that is a message that will be coming from the most ethnically diverse city in the world and arguably one of the most tolerant societies called Canada.

Given what we see outside of our borders, what a powerful message to send the world that it is okay to think differently, live differently, believe differently and still get along.

One of the other things that we have said to the Prince very early on was that we did not want to deliver him a city; we wanted to deliver him a country. Close to two years now, we have been going across the country—every corner—to talk about these Games, promote these Games and get Canadians excited about supporting these Games. We are about three-quarters of the way right now through a national flag tour that started in Esquimalt, B.C., and it is making its way across the country. This has been one of our signature opportunities to get outside of Toronto, outside the province of Ontario and make sure that all Canadians can be a part of these Games in some special way.

Often, when we are talking to organizations and we are promoting the Games, we often get the question, “Is anyone paying attention? Are you moving the needle? Are people excited about these Games starting in September?” Early on, we went out, and we asked that question to Canadians. For the question of whether you have ever heard of the Games, 5% of the nation put up their hands and said yes. In the GTA, that number was slightly higher at 8%. After months of promotion, activation, earned and bought media, those numbers have gone up significantly: 45% across the country and 69% now in the GTA.

I am absolutely convinced that by the end of this month, those numbers are going to be in the 90%s.

There is not anybody in this country that is not going to know that these Games are happening here in Toronto.

What I would like to do now is show a great video that is going to bring to life all of the things that we have been talking about and much more in the Games that will be starting ten days from now.

[VIDEO]

What do you think? There is no question it is going to be exciting. I just want to end on a personal note. The photo that you see on the screen is a photo of Matthew Dawe. He was about 27 when that photo was taken. That is his young son, who is about two, running into his arms. Most of my career has been in financial services. Around 2002, we had partnerships across the country with alumni and professional associations. One of them happened to be the Royal Military College. I remember going down there after we signed our contract and meeting with our point of contact there, a fellow by the name of Peter Dawe, Matthew’s father. Peter had just finished about 30, 35 years of distinguished service in the Canadian Armed Forces and was now working at the College.

I remember going into his office the first time and seeing this great, big photo of Peter and these four young, strong lads in their Canadian military uniforms. I asked Peter, “Who are those guys?” With a big smile on his face, he said, “Those are my sons.” Over the years when I would go back for meetings or briefings or various events, inevitably, the conversation would always turn towards his boys and the incredible satisfaction and admiration that he had for the contributions that they were making for Canada.

In one of those meetings, in 2006, the conversation quickly turned to his youngest son, Matthew. Matthew, at the time, was stationed in Edmonton and was training and preparing to be deployed to Afghanistan. What struck me about that conversation was—and, certainly, in his 30-plus years of service, Peter had been deployed to many hotspots around the world—you could tell in Peter’s voice that he was anxious for his son’s safety, even though he had been where he was many times before.

Fast forward a number of months later, when I was in Calgary on business. I got an early morning phone call, and my colleague said, “Turn on the TV.” I turned on the TV. Sure enough, there was Peter and his wife on national news. I knew right then and there that something had happened to Matthew. Sure enough, a few days earlier, Matthew had been killed in a roadside bomb, along with five others and an Afghan interpreter. I flew back to Toronto and made the drive to Kingston. We are all of the age where we have been to our fair share of funerals, but to be at a funeral for a fallen soldier is different.

I remember on the drive home thinking about what my generation was not doing to help support our military families more. A few weeks later, a good buddy of mine and I got together, and we talked about that experience and his experience of having just met retired General Rick Hillier, who had established something called the Military Families Fund. We decided, with the help of some great friends and others, to host a dinner to try and raise money for that fund to help our families. About 16, 17 months later, we hosted our first True Patriot Love dinner. Our goal was $1 million. That night, we did not raise $1 million; we actually ended up raising more than $2 million in one evening. What we learned coming out of that night was two things: One, that this would not be a one-time but life-time commitment for all of us involved. Two, when you give Canadians an opportunity to show their support, their gratitude, their love for their military families, they show up every single time. That is why when the opportunity to bring these Games to Canada was there, we grabbed it because we know, particularly, in our sesquicentennial year, the year that we celebrated the 100th anniversary of Vimy Ridge, the year that we honoured those that fell at Dieppe, that this was our moment to show our collective support for military families.

I think if you asked any one of us what is it we are delivering, yes, it looks like an adaptive sport program on the sizzle reel and in the pamphlets and in the ads, but if you asked us what we are really delivering, we would describe it as delivering therapy. It does not start on September 23rd when the Games start. In fact, it started last year when you were selected to represent your country.

For many of the members of Team Canada and other nations who will be coming here, these are men and women, today, who are struggling just to get out of bed in the morning. They are having challenges at home and at work with family and colleagues, or they are having a tough time finding meaningful employment. What these Games give them is an opportunity to put on that Canadian uniform again, to have the flag on their sleeve, to be surrounded by friends, coaches and support staff, but, more than anything, it gives them a mission and a purpose that they often lose when they leave service.

In ten days from now, I promise you, you will be moved.

You will be inspired. You will see things on the playing fields that you have never seen before. The men and women that you saw on the video, they are all men and women who have been injured as a result of service. If you asked any one of them, they would tell you that they had been tested by fate many times throughout their careers, and, yet, they remain undefeated, undiminished, proudly and distinctly unconquered. We have such an opportunity this year like no other to show all of our military families, from as far west as Esquimalt in B.C. to Cold Lake, Alberta, to Gagetown, New Brunswick, that we have your backs because, for so long and far too often, they have had ours. I hope that you will join us starting in ten days to turn our empathy into empowerment for all of our military families. Thank you very much.

Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me the greatest pleasure to introduce a member of Team Canada, Dr. Steve Daniel, to talk about his experience and his excitement for the coming days as we lead into the Invictus Games.

Steve Daniel

Thank you, Michael. It was a great job with the presentation, today. It was very moving, the last bit. I know Peter Junior, Peter’s oldest son. We served together. We had a course called Pathfinder Course back in 2000 and Pete, today, remains one of my best friends. Every time I connect with him, we always talk about his brother and his wife and how his child is doing, so thank you for bringing his memory to the forefront today.

My story to Invictus is a bit different than most of the competitors. As Michael said, I competed back in 2008 at the Paralympic Games. When I had my injury in 2005, there was not much in terms of support through veterans or even the Canadian military. I had to go it alone for the first part. I was a very active soldier. I did all kinds of activities, strongman competitions and military competitions. When I had my accident in 2005, going from a very fit, strong paratrooper to being resigned to living life in a wheelchair, it was hard for me to deal with. I went through about a year of soul searching, a year of difficulty figuring out who I am, if I am not a soldier. I was trying to figure out how I am going to provide for my family, what I am going to do with my life. That was not an easy struggle.

Fortunately, for me, in 2006, a good friend of mine, a guy I had served with in one RCR, a guy named Andrew McLean, started an organization that you know today as the Canadian Forces Soldier On Program. I was, in essence, the first recipient of the program. He was funding it through his own personal dollars that he had raised. It has gone on to become a very successful program. He called me one day, out of the blue, and asked, “Steve, how would you like to go out to Mount Washington and try some skiing?” I said, “Andrew, I do not know if you have heard, but I am in a wheelchair now, and, as far as I know, people with paraplegia do not ski.” He told me I was mistaken and said, “There is a program out there called the Vancouver Island Society for Adaptive Snowsports.” A lot of them were veterans, actually. They were guys that served 20, 30 years in the military and then worked with people with disabilities to get them back on the hill and experience winter sport.

I did the program. By the end of the week, I was skiing down a double black diamond route on Mount Washington. I thought when you get a guy who does not have the use of his legs to the top of a ski hill in the middle of wintertime and have him ski independently, what can you not do? For me, that was a real game-changer in terms of my attitude and what I was going to do after my injury.

Shortly after that, I was introduced to Paralympic sports through Soldier On. Once again, they had the Paralympic Sport Summit in 2007, where I was introduced to a lot of successful Paralympic athletes. I made that my goal and went on to compete in 2008 in Beijing.

I get a lot of questions these days, like, “How do you go from infantry gunfighter type to being a doctor?” It was my experience in sport that led me down my new path, and it was an experience I had in Beijing. I met a young lady who was in her last year at Stanford. She was like me, a paraplegic, just a little petite wheelchair racer. She had won numerous Boston marathons and Paralympic gold medals. She was successful both on and off the sports field. I thought, “Wow, this lady is really something.” I know I have met a lot of athletes, but to meet people who have taken their sport experience and translated it into success in their everyday lives was very inspiring. That was kind of the impetus that set me forward on my career in medicine.

Last year, I got the call to be part of the Invictus Games, and I was like the 5%. I was like, “What is the Invictus Games?” I had no idea. I am pretty far removed from the military at this point, so they explained that these Games had been started by Prince Harry. I thought, “I have time for this. This sounds like a real cool adventure.” I signed up, and I did the adaptive rowing. I was not sure what I was going to get out of the Invictus Games. I thought, “I am pretty far along in my recovery, what can Invictus offer me 11 years later?” I have to say, it was probably one of the highlights of my life. It was a remarkable experience, not only for me, but more for my wife and my son.

My wife, Danielle, and I have been together since we were 19 years old. I served four tours. She had been through the thick and thin and had not really been recognized for her contribution. My son was two years old when I had my injury. He did not know the soldier. He did not know that part of my life. For them to get on a plane, go to Orlando and meet Prince Harry and meet other team members of Invictus— both of the Canadian team and the other countries that were taking part—was a remarkable experience for them and it was kind of a full-circle moment to have them be recognized by the Invictus movement. That was special to me.

You did mention I won a silver medal in the rowing competition. That was a lot of fun.

For me to be able to do that and have my wife and son witness that was a highlight in my life.

What to expect this year? I have come back this year. There are ten of us, actually, who have come back as mentor athletes. I will not be doing the rowing this year, just the wheelchair basketball, which I have to say is my first love. I think this year, for me, it is about talking through the training camps. I was not part of the training camps last year, so I got to attend two week-long training camps and to be able to get back into the military environment and see what people are going through. And I am realizing that the struggle is still real for so many of our veterans. A lot of them that I have met are in the same place I was 11, 12 years ago. They are in a very, very dark place. I have already seen the changes in a lot of people’s attitudes. There is very healthy social networking that goes on. People are being supported across the country by their fellow athletes. It is very special for me to see that and to be able to help other veterans through this difficult time.

As far as what you can offer, ‘turning empathy into action’, I think is a great phrase. I think that is something we can all do. We are a little bit far removed now from Afghanistan. There are still people who are struggling with visible and invisible injuries and will probably struggle for the rest of our lives. I think it is important that Canadians do not forget that. Through events like Invictus, we can get behind our servicemen and women as well as our veterans.

Thanks, once again, to the Empire Club of Canada for inviting us, today, and hearing out about the Invictus Games with the important cause. I encourage all of you to tune in or, hopefully, even maybe to attend some of the events in ten days’ time. Thank you.

BJ: Steve, thank you so much for sharing that absolutely incredible story with us. We are all so grateful for your service. In celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday and our seventh event in our sesquicentennial series, I now ask our series sponsor, IBK Capital Corp., represented by Mike White, as well as our guest of honour, today, to join me at the podium and blow out our birthday candles. I gather that we are going to have to go around to get to that cake.

Happy Birthday, Canada!

Now, please, welcome Mike White to thank our esteemed speaker.

Note of Appreciation, by Mike White, President and Chief Executive Officer, IBK Capital Corp.

Madam President, distinguished Head Table Guests, fellow members and guests of the Empire Club of Canada, I have the pleasure to express our formal thanks to our key speakers on the Invictus Games Toronto 2017.

As Canada celebrates its sesquicentennial, the Empire Club of Canada is also celebrating this momentous 150th anniversary with a series of special high-profile addresses from leaders of some of the iconic institutions and organizations that have shaped Canada’s history. The Invictus Games Toronto 2017 is part of this series honouring our great country. We are proud of our Canadian Armed Forces and the men and women who have sacrificed in service to protect the peace and stand on guard for Canada. Thank you very, very much. Our luncheon, today, has featured Michael Burns, CEO of Invictus Games Toronto 2017, with a short video from Prince Harry, a patron of the Invictus Games. This luncheon has highlighted the upcoming Games and featured participating members of Team Canada.

I have seen the benefits of developing athletic skills, team- work and healthy competition. We are all very proud of each of our Invictus Games Team Canada athletes. Please, join me in a warm and special thank you to Michael Burns, Steve Daniel and all the participating members of Team Canada. Go Team Canada, go! Thank you.

Concluding Remarks, by Barbara Jesson

A sincere thank you to our generous sponsors for making this event possible: Presenting sponsor, Osisko Mining Ltd., premier sponsor Franco-Nevada Corporation, and sesquicentennial sponsor, IBK Capital Corp. Without sponsors like these, the Empire Club of Canada would not be possible. Thank you, once again, for your very generous support.

We would also like to thank mediaevents.ca, Canada’s online event space, for live webcasting today’s event to thousands of viewers around the world. Although our Club has been around since 1903, we have moved on into the 21st century and are active on social media. Please, follow us on Twitter at @Empire_Club and visit us online at www.empire- club.org. You can also follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Finally, please, join us for our next event. For anyone interested in doing business in the Far East, Ken Courtis, at the Empire Club on September 21st is not to be missed. Ken Courtis is one of the world’s leading investment bankers, investment advisors and analysts of Asian economies and business in Asia. With a free trade agreement with China and a pending renewal of TPP discussions coming this fall, as well as a challenging NAFTA negotiation, to say the least, find out what you need to know about doing business in the Far East, at the Royal York Hotel on September 21st. Please, join us.

This meeting is now adjourned.