It is a windy, icy mid-April Spring morning as I turn my thoughts to the beginning of a new fiscal year and what it means, especially this year, for us as a Sector. While the new fiscal year began with the routine complaints – late contracts from funders, too tight timelines for financial claims for end of last fiscal year, inconsistency in communication from the federal funder, less than ideal communication from the provincial funder, there is a sense of anticipation in the air.

Social justice movements are striding confidently into 2018. From the #metoo movement, a decade old hashtag thought up by African American activist Tarana Burke and given new life by the celebrities of popular culture including the high priestess of them all Oprah Winfrey, who with her sister celebs evolved it into a multimillion fund for survivors of sexual harassment and a new hashtag #timeisup; to the thousands of women and their allies who showed up for round two of the women’s march, it feels as if we’re experiencing a seismic cultural shift here in North America and around the globe.