About The CVFR

The purpose of the CVFR is to provide a Riding Club (RC) which welcomes all Veterans and Veteran Supporters who wish to share their enthusiasm for motorcycling and for the camaraderie of military life.

Vision

Our vision is to grow the membership Nationally and use our shared enthusiasm for motorcycle riding, to make Veterans and Veteran Supporters feel welcome, and to do charitable works related to Veterans Organizations, Veteran's support and serving members of the Canadian Forces. Other charitable works (such as the Ride for Dad) will also be supported but the emphasis will be on supporting veterans and serving Canadian Forces members.

The mission of The CVFR, in collaboration with other bodies, is to support the well being of the current and former members of the Canadian Forces by promoting and maintaining the heritage, traditions, and culture of the Canadian Forces and, at the same time, portraying a positive image of motorcycle riding.

Our Patch

Our patch depicts a soldier mourning the loss of a comrade, superimposed over a Red Maple leaf. Our motto, "Honour and Freedom," can be found wrapped around the top of the leaf. In the middle of a helmet is the British poppy as a symbol of the Commonwealth, and to indicate remembrance of our fallen.

We wear the patch to represent our pride in our service, our sorrow and remembrance at the sacrifice and loss of our comrades, and our commitment to the values of Honour and Freedom.

Our philosophy, guidelines and rules can be found in The CVFR Constitution.


Message from the National President and founder

The Canadian Veteran Freedom Riders (CVFR) is about supporting those veterans in need of assistance whenever possible, be it serving or retired, we also support others as the need arises, but our emphasis is on helping serving or retired military members and other organizations that also share the same goals. We respect other clubs who hold the same values and convictions as we do and we hope that they respect us in the same manner.

The CVFR stood up in March 2010 as an idea to have a riding club composed of military veterans and supporters. We will continue to support the same vision we had when the club was started: To continue riding together, and enjoying each others company, while at the same time supporting the CF and others as much as we can. However, in order to do that, it is important that all members of a unit, not just the same few, participate and involve themselves in the club activities. Members can say they don't see anything happening, they haven't been doing anything, the unit doesn't get involved, etc; well folks, look in the mirror and say to yourself, what can I do to get the unit involved in activities, what can I do to organize and get involved in things? and not just in the CVFR but with other clubs that share our same mission and goals. the only one who can initiate change is you, to wait for others can be a long wait.

I would like to welcome all who wish to join, but do not join just because you want to wear, or own, our club patch, join to be an involved and contributing member that works for the unit, and the CVFR as a whole. An example is the Allied Memorial Remembrance Ride (AMRR), an event which is international and for which I am the Canadian coordinator, and yet only a few units actively participate once a year to host the event in their community. Events such as the AMRR are an excellent way to show what we stand for and what we can achieve, but it can only be done by actively participating. There are units that are very active in their community and are recognized and respected for what they do, there are other units that we never hear from, and can only hope they are as active and helping support events and veterans in their locations.

I encourage all members to read the constitution, and to become familiar with the contents; it is there to help you better understand the way the club is organized, and what certain positions in a unit and at the National level do. We decided to have a constitution as we felt the need to have a set of rules and regulations that, while not overly restrictive, did lend some sense of commitment and a balanced structure. We looked at what had happened with other clubs, and the type of problems that some of them were having, and we took those points and made them into a set of rules and regulations that provided fairness across the board, transparency, free votes for everyone, and the ability of units to run themselves that, while having to adhere to the main constitution, still provided a certain amount of freedom to run the unit their own way, while maintaining a certain amount of accountability.

The CVFR will continually fine tune our processes and procedures to ensure that the Honour and Freedom is there to address unique situations. We will use public outreach by actively engaging other riding clubs, organizations and events. We have established our club with standardized dress, business cards, etc and by making sure that local clubs, organizations, and media in each of our respective regions is aware of what we are doing and who we are.

We encourage growth of membership, this includes adding new members to existing units as well as adding new units, but at the same time stressing that we are not encouraging members of other organizations to forsake their club to join ours. We encourage people to be members of more than one club; this gives them the needed diversity, as some clubs have activities that may be different, and this gives you, the rider, much needed freedom of choice when it comes to partaking in events and rides. We also are not looking for quantity, but are looking for quality in prospective members that embraces our motto of "Honour and Freedom".

The CVFR will stand up for, and protect our members, and as long as the members are forthright and honest with us, it will always remain that way. I expect the membership to stand up for each other as well. The CVFR will not resort to "Politics" but we will respond as, and if, required, to anyone wishing to undermine our club.

An event that was very special to CVFR was the local repatriation ceremonies that were held in conjunction with the repatriation of our fallen from combat areas overseas to CFB Trenton. The ceremony was done with dignity and honour, and was well received by all. These ceremonies not only sent the message that we care, but also showed that we supported our troops, and will honour their sacrifices until the last troop is withdrawn from whatever combat zone we are supporting. We hope this ceremony will no longer be needed, but if it is, then it will be used to honour and show our respect whenever we lose a soldier, sailor or air force member in any operation Canada happens to be involved in, whether it be peacekeeping or peacemaking. Hopefully, with Afghanistan now no longer as active as it was, there will be no more need, but the CVFR stands ready to perform the ceremony if required.

Transparency, particularly with the respect to finances, was and is a big issue, and accountability is a major issue that must be adhered to at all levels. To maintain this transparency, any member can request an up to date account sheet to be emailed to them. The account sheet is a general overall statement and is not detailed

It is hoped that the CVFR will continue to grow, and the main thing now is to ensure that it grows in a positive and ethical manner that reflects our motto of "Honour and Freedom," and remains a club that adheres to our principal of "by the members, for the members". Some members have been recognized with awards and commendations that reflect on all members of the club, and members continue to do an outstanding job in their local communities helping veterans and participating in events to raise funds so others less fortunate can be helped and assisted. I would be remiss if I did not also mention that we have lost members who have passed due to various causes. Those members are posted on our in memorium link on the CVFR web page.

If you think this club is what you are looking for and you wish to be a part of it, please feel free to read our constitution and submit an application form. Thank you for taking the time to read this message.

Mike "smokey" Blow CD Capt (ret'd)

CVFR National President and Founder

Waiver: With the legalisation of Cannabis Canada wide, it is the CVFR Nationals direction that this is to be treated the same as driving under the influence and will have zero tolerance, it not only endangers the member but also those who ride with them, The CVFR will not be held responsible or liable in any way in cases of injuries or death, or damage to property during any riding event. All CFVR riders and members ride and participate on planned or unplanned event rides at their own risk and under their own responsibility in regards to abiding by traffic regulations and governing laws. Individual Riders are themselves solely responsible for their own actions, legal responsibilities and consequences of their actions and/or inactions. It is strongly recommended that you read the CVFR rider's handbook available at CVFR Rider's Handbook in the downloads section.