On Remembrance Day, we are supposed to remember the sacrifices of veterans. This act of remembrance may be more important at Canadian universities since, unlike US universities, seeing a student in uniform is rare. A bit of remembering would indicate some deep connections to the real estate industry. I am reminded of a speech given by Rex Murphy to the Toronto Real Estate Forum about 10 years ago, that received a standing ovation.
It is easy to talk about how the veterans of World War II, and that fewer and fewer remain. It is easy to talk about how they returned home to create the society we live in today which, while good, is also a work in progress.
A more forward looking perspective would think of veterans who served as peacekeepers in many places around the world. They served in places where, at any time, the rule of law may be replaced by the rule of whoever is in power currently.
Peacekeepers have served in places where the meaning of RoI that would be familiar in Canada needs to be paired with a second meaning. Our students are taught how to calculate the return on an investment and very few need to worry about the return of an investment. Physical and contractual instability does not encourage people to make the kind of long term productive investments commonly seen in Canadian real estate.
So, it is worth spending a minute or two of silence to consider our veterans and the lives they have lived. Lest we forget.
PA