Molson, Jarislowsky, Pratte on prominent Montreal families’ COVID crisis response

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Stemming from the idea of Canadian financier and philanthropist Stephen Jarislowsky, and with the stewardship of Andrew Molson, chairman of The Molson Foundation, several of the city’s most prominent families came together to help desperate communities during one of our darkest times.

“When COVID struck we felt that we should mobilize the people living in the different communities of Montreal,” said Jarislowsky, founder of investment management firm Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd. (acquired by Scotiabank), who is also the founder of the Jarislowsky Foundation.

“It was a complimentary approach to the top-down measures that the government of Quebec were doing. We felt that the people in the communities should be organized in situ as volunteers and that plans should be made how to protect people of many languages in the districts to work with local volunteers.”

A book also emerged from the experience, entitled Unseen Angels, written by Quebec author, journalist and former senator, André Pratte.

Here, Molson, Jarislowsky and Pratte share their experience in forming what became Unseen Angels, and what it might mean for the future of family foundations collaborating on initiatives that best serve Canada’s most vulnerable individuals.

How family foundations came to help during COVID

An unprecedented number of wealthy families came together to pool resources and funding during the pandemic’s peak effect on those in need, including Fondation Familiale Trottier, Fondation Mirella et Lino Saputo, the Molson Foundation, the Jarislowsky Foundation, Fondation J. Armand Bombardier, Fondation Echo, the Azrieli Foundation, Fondation Communautaire Juive, and the Hewitt Foundation.

With the incentive from Jarislowsky, the idea of a book to commemorate the initiative was put forward. Mr. Molson was keen to see the project through.

“This initiative was the idea of Mr. Stephen Jarislowsky,” says Molson. “He wanted to memorialize the collaborations between the family foundations in Quebec and the hard work being done by community organizations and volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The foundations met regularly and funded studies and research to curb the disastrous effects of the pandemic on the most vulnerable.

“A few foundations had already been in discussions before the pandemic, which made it easier for us to pivot and mobilize to address the needs of communities in Montreal,” says Molson.

“I participated in meetings with other foundations (Trottier, Jarislowsky, Saputo, etc.) at the onset of the pandemic. We invited Philanthropic Foundations Canada (PFC) and Fondation du Grand Montréal (FGM) to find out what was being done on the ground and where we could help.

“Aside from funding community initiatives through the PFC and FGM, The Molson Foundation also collaborated with the Trottier Foundation to fund two studies conducted by McGill University researchers. The first was the Québec COVID-19 wastewater surveillance project by Prof. Dominic Frignon … [and Peter Vanrolleghem from Laval University]. The second was COVID testing of essential workers in Montréal-Nord by Dr. Jonathon Campbell and Prof. Richard Menzies.”

Foundations helped community groups knock ‘on 500,000 doors’

Because of the unprecedented success of the coalition of foundations, Jarisowsky felt they should take the project to new heights.

“In discussions with others, we felt that we should work together and, if successful, turn the project over to the government,” says Jarislowsky.

“By getting together with the Red Cross and others who were active, this became a major help in protecting and teaching residents good governance. It materially brought confidence and tangible results, saving lives as well as convincing people to take on the tasks.”

Soon, Pratte became involved, and development for his book, Unseen Angels, began to unfold.

“Andrew Molson, whom I have known for a number of years, made me aware of the efforts of family foundations, in collaboration with community groups, in the fight against COVID,” says Pratte.

“At first, I was not convinced this was worth a book. But then I realized the importance of the project – coordinating and helping with the efforts of a large number of community groups – so that in the Montreal region, they knocked on 500,000 doors to offer the help.

Birth of book to chronicle ‘extraordinary experiment’

“That’s when I became convinced that this extraordinary experiment should be documented, to serve as an example for future crises.”

Both Pratte and Molson see hope for projects that align with the collaborative philosophy that became Unseen Angels.

“Many of the people involved, within the philanthropic community and in community groups, have expressed the view that this kind of collaboration should continue, in order to complement what the public sector is doing in fields such a public health,” says Pratte.

“It seems obvious to me that in situations of crises where it is important to reach as many people as possible, community groups, with their wide network, can do so much more effectively than government agencies. Foundations can provide the means for such efforts, and the capacity to coordinate.”

For the foundations involved, most have not broken from the coalition.

“We meet regularly,” says Molson, “and when we see opportunities to collaborate, we do.”

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