MORTLACH — When Donna Hartie stands before a room of veterans, she doesn’t just speak — she listens, connects, and offers something many struggling veterans haven’t felt in years: someone who truly has their back.
Hartie, a service officer with the Army, Navy, and Air Force Veterans (ANAVETS) Assiniboia Unit 283 in Winnipeg, Man., was the featured speaker during Mortlach’s second annual Veterans Appreciation Weekend, hosted at the Pit Stop Family Diner recently.
Her presentation wasn’t just a formality — it was a lifeline.
“This is Donna, and she … is a co-ordinator for anyone who happens to come to her with any issue to do with military pensions, injury claims, anything like that,” said Terry Bittles, owner of the Pit Stop Diner and host to the weekend event. “She does a fantastic job, and here she is, out here advocating for us.”
Hartie assists with military pensions, organizes and conducts celebrations of life, offers grief counselling for families, and connects veterans directly to the help they need. Hartie estimated that she performs 10 to 60 memorial services each year, many for veterans with few or no family members. In the last decade, her role has expanded far beyond ceremony.
“The first thing I wanted to learn was about female veterans,” she said. “I never heard anything about female veterans in the whole 10 years I was working (at my previous job) … I’m now in contact with 25 different organizations and help them out by sharing information and participating with anything they need ….”
That quest led Hartie into a new chapter of service — one focused on Indigenous veterans, women, and those too often overlooked by the system. Today, she works with more than two dozen organizations across Manitoba, including peacekeepers, cadet programs, and cultural veterans' groups.
“I make sure other groups, including Portuguese veterans and Ukrainian veterans, are now participating in what we do. They’re also asking for help now, and we’re stepping up and helping them as well,” she said.
Hartie also supports Indigenous veterans through her work with the Southern Chiefs Organization, and helps source essentials like food, clothing, and fundraising assistance for those in need. Whether working with non-members, new members, or veterans facing medical challenges, she liaises with more than two dozen organizations to ensure no one falls through the cracks.
She also works hard to ensure those in need are connected directly — not through machines, but through people.
“When anybody comes to me and they’re asking for help, I send them directly to the person (who can help them out best). You will never have to go to a machine (or) talk to a machine,” Hartie explained.
She was recently honoured with the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her work and has been recognized by both Canadian and American veteran organizations.
During her talk, Hartie also spoke of her work with Indigenous veterans and her cultural ties to Nelson House, Man., where she’s considered part of the community through marriage. Her ceremonial outfit — adorned with symbolic patches, beadwork, and a bear emblem — reflected that close connection.
“I was given the name Mama Bear, and that’s who I am,” she said, adding that “I’m not a warrior” when asked about participation in Indigenous sweat lodges for warriors.
“She just mentioned, ‘I am not a warrior,’” Bittles told the crowd following Hartie’s presentation. “I think you are — for everything that you do for everyone who needs your help.”
For more information that may be of benefit to military veterans, Donna Hartie can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phoning her Winnipeg office at 1-204-837-6708.
