The CFFE
fullfilled its pledge

The Canadian Friends of Finland (Toronto) Education Foundation attained of late its goal of collecting half a million dollars to benefit the teaching of Finnish at the University of Toronto. (Vapaa Sana, issue 9/2010). When announcing the pledge in the spring of 2006 members of the CFF had believed financing would also be made available to create a permanent basis for the Chair of Finnish. That would have required an investment of three million dollars. An organization such as the CFFE cannot procure amounts of that magnitude, though it can be a catalyst for donations of that size.
In the meantime, Finnish authorities and the University of Toronto reached agreement on further financing of the Finnish studies, sharing the cost until 2014. The continuation of Finnish studies beyond 2014 has to be taken up early enough to examine all the options available.

Besides for its work for the advancement of education here in Canada, the CFF should be commended for its outreach on the Finnish Canadian scene. Anyone familiar with the Finnish legacy here in Canada needs only to take look at the picture of the CFF Board printed in Vapaa Sana issue 9 to find our that the CFF has managed to cover a wider base of the Finnish Canadian scene than apparently any other organization so far. Moreover, newcomers to Canada have found the CFF and CFFE attractive as a way of connecting with the part of Canada interested in Finland.

While traditional immigration from Finland ceased in the early 70s, a small number of Finnish citizens do move to Canada annually, for professional or family reasons. Mixing with the communities of the traditional immigrants has not been that successful as the culture and values of the Finnish “enclaves” often reflect the ways that prevailed in Finland decades ago. The CFF has offered a platform that combines interest in Finland and contemporary Canada.
It is possible that in the future the CFF clubs may grow in importance, particularly if the organizations of the traditional immigrants decline further and may not be able to convert into English or French speaking entities. Ultimately, Finnish language communities in Canada will adopt English or French, and in that situation there will be ample space and demand in this country for an organization that maintains interest in Finland and is not in denial of accepting any major part of the Finnish legacy here in Canada. So far the CFF system has indicated it has ability to comply with those requirements.
Though originally established with the help of the Finnish government, the CFF clubs have been independent and self sustaining for many years already. There are differences in the accent of operations in the cities a CFF club is available. Currently there are CFF clubs in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver. Operations somewhat parallel to the nature of the CFF do exist in other cities though with different names. JN