February 05, 2008 – Regina

Thank you for your warm welcome. It’s a pleasure to represent Great-West Life in support of the President’s Banquet this evening.

It’s true, I’m a good ol’ boy from Saskatchewan, and I’m proud to live and do business here. What’s not to be proud of? We’ve got the fastest growing population in Canada, our economy is booming, and our employment rate is right up there with Alberta.

We enjoy a vibrant arts community, with world-renowned singers such as Joni Mitchell and Buffy Sainte-Marie. We launch world-class athletes, including hockey greats Gordie Howe and Hayley Wickenheiser, and celebrities like comedian Brent Butt. We don’t need the United Nations to tell us that Saskatchewan is one of the best places in the world to live – we live here, and we know it!

So it’s heartening to see so many dedicated community leaders who were willing to give up a Super Bowl Weekend to share best practices, network and celebrate Strength Through Diversity!

Like the members of SUMA here tonight, we at Great-West Life understand the importance of diversity. Great-West Life was founded as the first life insurance company in western Canada, back in 1891 in Winnipeg. Life insurance continues to be a core business for us, but we’ve diversified our products to include a wide range of retirement savings and investments, and group insurance products. We’ve diversified geographically, with operations across Canada, as well as in the United States, Europe and Asia. And Great-West Life has grown to include London Life and Canada Life, serving 12 million Canadians in total.

Saskatchewan is important to us. In turn, we make an important contribution to this province’s economy. We provide over $21 billion of life insurance protection for residents of Saskatchewan and pay out or credit over $324 million annually in life and health insurance benefits, annuity payments and segregated funds.

Our organization also has significant community involvement. Since 2005 , our total community support to nonprofit and charitable organizations in Saskatchewan has been more than one million dollars. Some of the organizations that benefit from our direct corporate support include KidSport Saskatchewan, the United Way of Regina and Saskatoon, both Royal University Hospital and St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon, the University of Regina and the Regina Symphony Orchestra, to name just a few. In addition, The Resource Centre, Regina is proud to have developed and managed an annual golf tournament that over the past 14 years has raised more than $1 million dollars in support of the Hospitals of Regina Foundation.

Now, for many Canadians – including many of you here tonight -- the link with Great-West Life is through their employee benefits program. As a leading provider of employee benefits in Canada, and a large employer itself, we understand first hand the challenges faced in the workplace.

One area of increasing focus is the impact of mental health issues in the workplace. Estimates published by the Government of Canada put the cost to the Canadian economy at well above $15 billion annually. From a human cost, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association an estimated one in five people will experience mental illness directly, and those who don’t will have a friend, colleague or family member who is dealing with a mental health issue.

As such, workplace mental health is another important area of community investment for Great-West Life, not just in Saskatchewan, but across Canada. To respond to this growing need, we launched The Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace last summer.

The Centre is unique in Canada in its exclusive focus on the workplace. Great-West Life has established the Centre to sponsor research, conferences and workshops in addition to supporting the public dissemination and exchange of information regarding mental health in the workplace. The Centre has already commissioned and released “Mental Health in the Workplace,” the largest survey ever conducted of Canadian workplace mental health and depression.

The Centre for Mental Health is a natural evolution of Great-West Life’s commitment to the search for solutions in this area. It recognizes that good mental health in the workplace significantly impacts the mental health of our families and of society as a whole.

We’re proud to take a leadership role in the search for solutions in an area that affects many thousands of Canadians. SUMA also takes a leadership role in the search for solutions to your communities’ challenges. As the provincial voice of municipalities, you are the voice of the people of Saskatchewan. We share a common vision – that of building Stronger Communities Together™.

On behalf of Great-West Life and as a sponsor of this evening’s terrific annual convention, I offer our congratulations to all of the award winners and thank President Allan Earle for inviting me to share with you in your evening.