On Saturday evening, the Canadian Lebanon Society of Halifax held its annual philanthropy dinner at the Cedar Events Centre. What could have been just another fundraiser turned into something deeper: the night the community burned the mortgage on its hard-owned property. After years of payments, the property on 255 Bedford Highway is now fully owned by the society. A dream that started decades ago finally came true, and the relief in the room was real.
The symbolic moment belonged to three men who made it possible. Former presidents Maroun El Hage, Youssef Faddoul and Joseph Daniel had personally guaranteed the mortgage with BMO when the centre was purchased. On Saturday, they stood together again, side by side with the current president Raymond El Chater, and watched the last page of that agreement turn to ash. Their quiet smiles said everything. No speeches were needed. Maroun made a brief remark that landed gently but stayed with everyone. “All we need, here in the community, in Nova Scotia, in Canada, and back home in Lebanon, is good leaders,” he said. That was all. No more words were necessary.
The program moved gently between music, faith, and memory. Sylva Naddour opened with a traditional Lebanese song for Majida El Roumi, her voice carrying the ache so many still feel for home. Later, Christina and Rebecca El Chater, daughters of Raymond Chater, brought the room back to life with a bright, modern Lebanese track full of laughter and young energy.
Elias Saab followed with two songs on the oud that made the hall feel smaller, as if the mountains of Lebanon were suddenly just outside the windows. Fr. Parisious and Fr. Eid sat among the tables, their presence a reminder that for this community, faith and culture have never been separate.
Lena Metlege Diab spoke with warmth and clear pride about Lebanese Heritage Month, now officially celebrated every November across Canada. She highlighted how this year, the Canadian Armed Forces are placing special emphasis on the sacrifices of Lebanese-Canadian soldiers who served and died for Canada in every conflict since the First World War, an honour she had helped secure years earlier with fellow community members in Nova Scotia.
As Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, she then wished that the Holy Father’s upcoming visit to Lebanon would carry genuine hope for peace in the country and across the region. A more peaceful Middle East, she added with a gentle, knowing smile, would make her job a great deal easier.
In her remarks, she honoured Edward Francis Arab, a Canadian patriot of Lebanese descent who fought heroically in WWII. At a time when many were labelled Syrian or Syrian-Lebanese, he insisted, long before the 1943 recognition of the Lebanese state, on identifying as Lebanese-Canadian. His story reminded the room of the deep roots and enduring aspirations of Lebanese immigrants in this country.
Honorary Consul Wadih M. Fares spoke to the audience, urging everyone to pull the younger generation closer and make sure they hear the unvarnished truth behind every success: the setbacks, the stubborn recoveries, the hope that refused to quit. “Pass those stories on,” he said, “not just the shiny parts.”
Raymond Chater closed the night with simple words that stayed with everyone. Lebanon, he said, is not a place on a map. It is something we carry inside. He thanked the volunteers who gave their weekends, the donors who gave quietly, the children who were almost falling asleep while history was made, or burned actually, in front of them.
Mounir Daaboul ran the evening, from the sound board to the food service, with the calm of an opera conductor. Marie Ann Leba, the master of ceremonies, guided everyone through the program with warmth and respect. The food, prepared by Mint Catering under chef Jean Gharib, tasted like Sunday lunch at a Lebanese aunt’s house but served with elegance.
When the last ember of the mortgage paper died out, the message was clear. A debt was paid. A promise was kept. The building is the society’s now, and so is the responsibility to keep it for the next ones who dwell in that place and call two countries home. In the end, the Canadian Lebanon Society of Halifax is more than a centre on Bedford Highway. It is proof that a small community, far from the Cedar Mountains, can still build something that lasts.
The Cedar Whispers website team were lucky to have Nassim and Marie Reine Kaadou sitting at the same table. Almost exactly one year ago, in this very same hall, we were part of their VIP launch of Crumbl Cookies in Atlantic Canada alongside Jean Paul and Fernando Kaado, the driving force behind this success story. Guests kept reminding them of that frigid morning a month later, last December, when lines were forming in the dark at five o’clock, minus eighteen degrees, the queue winding out of sight. Somehow it felt perfectly right that twelve months later, in the same room, we were toasting a milestone built to outlast even the sweetest pink box, especially now as they prepare to open a second shop just minutes from here.
As we were leaving, a friend reminded us of the words attributed to the Sienese sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti, who once addressed the people of Florence who were always criticizing his work simply because he came from their rival city-state. He remarked, « È più facile criticare che imitare », or in English, “It is easier to criticize than to imitate.” The dear advice comes from our Muslim brethren in the Prophet’s teaching: « وَقُلِ اعْمَلُوا فَسَيَرَى اللَّهُ عَمَلَكُمْ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ », meaning “Work, for God will see your deeds, as will His Messenger and the believers.” Let these reflections gently remind us that walking the walk has always carried far more weight than talking the talk.
