In only a few days we'll be saying goodbye to yet another year - 2022. As we wrap up this year we want to share with you our review and reflections for the past year and also ask: how would you sum up 2022?
When Dave Barry started his yearly review he came up with five words to summarize 2022: "it could have been worse." That's a pretty tough summary of the year, but we can appreciate their weight. It's been a hard year.
In 2022 Canada saw a number of events that shocked the nation. Just to name a few: The Freedom Convoy, protesting vaccination mandates, led Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to invoke the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history in February, the first case of monkeypox was confirmed in Toronto in March, and in December, just before the end of the year, massive snow storms struck across Canada, causing a number of delays at Pearson. Out in Vancouver, some unfortunate travellers were stuck on the tarmac for 12 hours overnight!
The above news doesn't even begin to cover the massive world events that took place in 2022 like Russia's invasion of the Ukraine or the Taliban's suspension of employing all foreign and domestic women (which came shortly after the banning female students from attending universities).
In other words, it's been another year where resilience has been key. If we had to summarize the year for ourselves, we'd have to say "continuing to push for positive change." So many individuals who we've spoken to, or collaborated with, in 2022 have shared their own stories of success and struggle. In all the stories we've encountered, we've found a shared theme: to push for growth, positive change, and new beginnings, in spite of the challenges.
In September we saw a similar tone of optimism when, three years since the pandemic first began, the head of the World Health Organization stated that he believed the "end is in sight" for the COVID-19 pandemic. A pretty exciting statement for health and safety looking forward!
Beyond national or international news, the news Covergalls faced this year has been pretty exciting, and in line with our summary statement of the year.
First and foremost we've continued in our mission to share great safety workwear that helps women feel comfortable and confident. For us, this is key and we're happy that this year we managed to launch our first Recycled High Visibility Tee and been able to attend PDAC this year with news of our upcoming maternity wear line.
Our blog has also continued this year and shared some other important stories to us, like The Importance of Encouraging Women and Girls in Science, how Sudbury is A Big Deal for Mining - And Covergalls, how we at Covergalls and Women in Construction Hit the Runway as well as the launch of some great collaborations this year with Femina Collective, The Shoebox project, and Après Actif.
For everyone that we've managed to connect, and work, with this year - thank you. It's been a hard year and the work and positive change you've shared with us has been so valuable. We always cherish the incredible individuals we meet. And a big thank you to our followers too. It's you - who share our passion for change making and better safety in the industries we work for - that help give us the drive to keep moving forward.
Overall, we can't wait to start 2023 with you all and see what's next.
Best wishes, stay safe and happy New Year!
The Covergalls Team