Our campaign cabinet

The 46 women and men who, five years ago, agreed to serve in the Healing More Better campaign cabinet have brought a whole new meaning to the Foundation tagline “for the love of children.” They have embraced the cause wholeheartedly, knowing full well that the challenge awaiting them would be huge. Monumental even. But they were ready, willing and able to take it on and help write a new page in Sainte-Justine’s story.

Led by three outstanding co-chairs, Pierre Boivin, Jacynthe Côté and Serge Godin, the members of the cabinet have shown us, time and time again, that we were right to dream—and dream big—on behalf of our mothers and children. Together, we dared to make our ambitions come true, going above and beyond our original expectations. Today, some $255 million later, we would like to applaud them for successfully rallying our supporters and getting the job done!

Our highest praise goes out to each and every one of them. Their names will forever be associated with the incredible achievements made possible by the Healing More Better campaign.

Thank you! 

 

Pierre Boivin

A man of vision

“As long as we can do more, we have to keep forging ahead.” This has been a recurring theme throughout Pierre Boivin’s philanthropic journey. For those who know Pierre, these words resonate particularly strongly when they think of him and everything he has done to inspire and empower the people around him.

A man of vision, Pierre is a natural leader for whom generosity, engagement and solidarity are more than words. He has unreservedly embraced the cause of Sainte-Justine and welcomed the mothers and children into his family. With unremitting perseverance, he has delivered on a solemn promise he made to them long before he agreed to co-chair the far-reaching Healing More Better campaign: a promise to find better ways to heal more children.

He has been a torchbearer for the Foundation’s efforts for more than 20 years, approaching and galvanizing hundreds of influential people to shed their chequebook charity mind-set in favour of an engagement-based approach, in order to improve the lives of their fellow citizens, with the most vulnerable among them first in line.

Pierre is a builder, a team player and a respected leader in everything he undertakes. Excellence is his mantra, and this extends to charity work. That is why he jumped in with both feet in 2012 to join the Healing More Better campaign, alongside his two other co-chairs, whose reputation preceded them: Jacynthe Côté and Serge Godin. His characteristic dedication to the cause has had more than a little to do with the colossal success of the campaign he has led with such pride and heart.

Pierre’s altruism and generosity truly know no bounds. Having him on our side is an immense honour and privilege. We thank him most sincerely for walking with us along the path to a better, brighter and healthier future for Quebec’s mothers and children. 

Jacynthe Côté

A force of nature

“Each and every one of us has a responsibility to the society we live in.” Jacynthe Côté not only uttered these words, she lives by them, particularly when it comes to the causes that are near and dear to her heart. Children’s causes are high on this list.

This statement may very well have influenced her decision to join the Healing More Better campaign cabinet, alongside her fellow co-chairs Pierre Boivin and Serge Godin. At the time she was CEO of Rio Tinto Alcan.

Despite already having a full slate, she was eager to share her passion for excellence and teamwork with her fellow cabinet members and the institution they chose to serve for the love of children. In the end, that is what inspired her to join in on this game-changing adventure for the Quebec philanthropic community.

As a mother of three, Jacynthe knew that the unconditional love we have for our children can make us strong enough to move mountains—to make the impossible possible. “Experience has shown me that to get exceptional results, you have to be surrounded by people of exceptional passion,” she is quoted as saying. So she knew that teaming up with people who shared her sense of commitment would ensure success.

“Finding the right mix of people, tools and foresight excites me no end.” She taps into this seemingly endless well of determination and humanity to share her passion with others in order to build a more promising future for the mothers and children of Sainte-Justine.

The CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation could not be prouder to have had such a force of nature in our midst in order to keep the campaign on track.

Thank you for all this and much more!  

Serge Godin

A leader with a big heart

Serge Godin is the founder of the CGI Group, a world-renowned IT consulting firm with 400 offices and 70,000 members in 70 countries around the planet. He has been actively involved in a number of charitable endeavours throughout his career. It is therefore no accident that he ended up as a co-chair, alongside his colleagues Pierre Boivin and Jacynthe Côté, of the far-reaching Healing More Better campaign.

“What makes a company or a project successful? It never boils down to one person. There’s no leadership if the leadership isn’t shared,” Serge is on the record as saying. This philosophy has served him well, whether in his duties as a corporate executive or in his philanthropic efforts. And the success of the Healing More Better campaign is proof positive of this.

A native of the Saguenay region (like co-chair Jacynthe Côté), Serge is the fifth child of nine. He credits his consensus-building skills to this middle-child status. And he has certainly put these finely tuned powers to work over the years to support the mothers and children of Sainte-Justine.

He established the Jeunesse-Vie Foundation in 2000 with the goal of fighting poverty, promoting education and improving health for children and youth living in underprivileged communities. The Jeunesse-Vie Foundation was one of the donors that helped the Healing More Better campaign raise an incredible $255 million.

We are indebted to him for giving of his time and talent to see our campaign all the way through so we can do more and do better for the mothers and young patients of Sainte-Justine.

The members of Healing More Better campaign cabinet – 2013-2018

LIFETIME PATRON

Céline Dion, O.Q.

HONORARY CHAIRS

Jean Coutu
Chairman of the Board
The Jean Coutu Group (PJC) Inc.

Paul Desmarais Jr., O.C., O.Q.
Chairman of the Boad and
Co-Chief Executive Officer
Power Corporation of Canada

CO-CHAIRS

Pierre Boivin O.C., Q.C.
President and
Chief Executive Officer
Claridge Inc.

Jacynthe Côté
Corporate director

Serge Godin
Founder and Executive
Chairman of the Board
CGI Group Inc.

Members 

Chris Arsenault
Manager Partner
iNovia Capital

Aldo Bensadoun
Executive Chairman
Groupe Aldo

Raymond Boucher
Owner
Raybou Communication

Jacques Bougie
Corporate Director

Ann Bouthillier
Chief Communications Officer
VIA Rail Canada

Charles Brindamour
Chief Executive Officer
Intact Financial Corporation 

Sophie Brochu
President and
Chief Executive Officer
Énergir the new Gaz Métro

Dr Fabrice Brunet
Chief Executive Officer
CHU Sainte-Justine

Thane Calder
President
CloudRaker

Maud Cohen
President and
Chief Executive Officer
CHUSainte-Justine Foundation

Isabelle Courville
Chair of the Board
Laurentian Bank

Jean-Guy Desjardins
Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer
and Chief Investment Officer
Fiera Capital Corporation

France-Élaine Duranceau
Vice-President,
Private Capital Group
Colliers International (Quebec) Inc.

Charles Émond
Managing Director and
Quebec Office Head
Scotia Capital Inc.

Hon. Michael M Fortier, PC
Vice-Chairman of the Board
RBC Capital Markets 
Chairman of the Board
CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation 

L.-Daniel Gauvin

Caisse Centrale Desjardins &
Capital Desjardins Inc.

Charles Guay
President and
Chief Executive Officer
CG & Cie

Isabelle Hudon
Canada Ambassador in France 

Éric R. La Flèche
Chief Executive Officer
Metro Inc.

Daniel Labrecque
President and
Chief Executive Officer
DNA Capital

Pierre Larochelle
Vice-President, Investments
Power Corporation of Canada

Annie Lemieux
President
LSR GesDev

Brian M. Levitt
Vice-Chair
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

L. Jacques Ménard
Chairman
BMO Nesbitt Burns  
President, Quebec
BMO Financial Group

Geoffrey E. Molson
Owner, President and
Chief Executive Officer
Club de hockey Canadien, Inc.
& evenko

Michel Nadeau
President, Chief Executive Officer
and Founder
Tactio Groupe Santé

Joan Sawaya-Paiement
& Luc Paiement
Executive Vice-President,
Wealth Management
and Co-President and
Co-Chief Executive Officer
National Bank Financial

Isabelle Perras
Vice-President, Global Corporate
SNC-Lavalin Inc.

Jean Raymond
Vice-Chairman and Managing Director,
Head of Wholesale Banking Quebec
Wholesale Banking Quebec
CIBC World Markets Inc.

Richard J. Renaud
Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer
TNG Corporation

Catherine Rowe
Executive Vice-President,
Major Campaign Development

CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation

David Savard
Managing-Head of M&A
and Financial Sponsors
National Bank Financial

François-Xavier Seigneur
President
Les Services de promotion
et de publicité EFFIX Inc.

Michelle Setlakwe

François-Charles Sirois
President and
Chief Executive Officer
Telesystem Ltd

Lisa Smith &
Mark L. Smith

President
Pandion Investments Ltd

Robert Tessier
Chairman of the Board
Caisse de dépôt et
placement du Québec

Louis Vachon
President and
Chief Executive Officer
National Bank