Dear fellow Vincentians;

I would like to inform you of some changes in the North of 60 program. As you may know this program was initiated by our Western Region in order to assist the Inuit peoples of the far north of Canada.

The Ontario Regional Council has been very supportive of this program but as it grows, some of the issues for the Western region are lack of funds to address this entire area, not having the best transportation channels for some parts of the north and the ever growing size of the needs of our sisters and brothers north of 60th parallel. Therefore, our national council has approved assigning the two easternmost regions of Nunavut (there are 3 regions in total) to the Ontario Regional Council. This change works well as Nunavut is geographically north of Ontario and is best accessible by sea, via Toronto or Montreal.

In addition, the Nunavut region comes under the jurisdiction of the Churchill-Hudson`s Bay diocese. We have already made some contacts in the Nunavut region and have a new conference started in Whales Cove. I have also spoken with and met Bishop Krotki of the Churchill-Hudson`s Bay diocese and he is very supportive and grateful for any help we can provide to his missions. We are also hoping for a collaborative effort with Catholic Missions in Canada (CMIC).

Now, we need to develop a plan that will outline the way we intend to develop partnerships with the missions in Nunavut. One way would be to start conferences of the Society in the various missions and then use our internal twinning program. We shall also need to develop ways of helping where there are no conferences. Any Vincentian interested in being part of our efforts is invited to contact our North of 60 chairperson, or myself.

Please pray and consider helping our friends in the far North.

Sincerely
Jim Paddon