Speaking Notes - The Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, at a Veterans’ Week Citizenship Ceremony

Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario, November 6, 2006

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Thank you, Judge Pinel.

Honoured Veterans, General Manson, guests, citizens:

It is a privilege to be part of this day, and to congratulate and welcome Canada’s newest citizens.

Standing here, surrounded by all the history of sacrifice and achievement in this museum, and seeing our Honoured Veterans — our living history — I’m reminded just how precious our rights as Canadian citizens are, and why we must take the responsibilities that come with citizenship seriously.

During Veterans’ Week we pause to remember and thank those brave Canadians who have demonstrated their commitment to Canada in a way that few of us ever will.

The Veterans with us today are among the more than one-and-a-half million Canadians who have served in military conflicts in dozens of countries around the world. More than 116,000 Canadians have given their lives to Canada and the cause of freedom since the beginning of the First World War.

Today, more than 2,000 brave, young Canadians are honouring our country’s legacy as they defend freedom and support democracy and reconstruction in Afghanistan. I am so proud to bear witness to Canada’s strong commitment to standing up for democracy and the basic rights of others.

By remembering those who have served, like the Honoured Veterans here with us today, we remember the value of our freedom. By honouring the courage of those who are promoting Canadian beliefs today in Afghanistan, we honour our past and uphold our values. And by welcoming new citizens to Canada, we are helping to ensure our future and the future of our beliefs.

Newcomers chose Canada because of what we represent — the promise of hope, the opportunity to realize dreams, and to live in a nation that believes in freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and has the courage to stand up for those beliefs. And I am proud to remember the contributions of new Canadians who have risked their lives to defend their new country and what it stands for. Since the beginning of Canada newcomers have fought alongside people who were born here. The courage and loyalty of these soldiers is inspiring.

Increasingly, the Canadian Forces reflects Canada’s diversity. And in a world where conflicts are fought over differences of religion or race, or beliefs, that diversity is an asset. Canada is an example to the world that people from dozens of different cultures and beliefs can come together to build a society where harmony is the rule and not the exception.

We have a number of men and women with us today presently serving in the Forces. Like Corporal Ambrose Leung, whose parents moved here from Hong Kong when he was a boy to give him all of the opportunity that Canada affords. And now he is giving back, motivated to serve by a commitment to our quality of life and our values and a conviction they are worth standing up for.

And it’s important for all of us, newcomers and those who were born here, to really be Canadian.

That means enjoying our rights, and it also means taking our responsibilities as citizens very seriously. It means making a firm commitment to the values that make Canada such a wonderful country; a country where we play by the rules, respect the rights of others, and promote those same values to our children and in our communities.

Ladies and gentlemen, we can all do our parts in contributing to our country. By offering a helping hand to a neighbour or being a volunteer you are making a contribution and each contribution, large and small, adds up to make Canada a welcoming place of opportunity and belonging, of mutual respect and peace.

During this Veterans’ Week, we honour and thank those ordinary Canadians who have made an extraordinary contribution.

We are fortunate to have a number of veterans with us here today. Some of them served in World War II. Among them, Lieutenant Colonel Alf Rasmussen, who served in the Air Force. Major Gerry Bowen, who served in the navy in the North Atlantic, and his wife Helen who served as a Sergeant in the Canadian Women’s army corps during World War II. After the war, three months of life as a civil servant was enough to drive Gerry back to the Canadian Forces, and he went on to serve in Korea and have a distinguished career with the Canadian Forces.

Major Howard Mansfield served in the British army, in the Middle East and in Malaysia, before immigrating to Canada and joining the Canadian Forces, where his tours of duty included peacekeeping in Cyprus. Many of the veterans with us today volunteer here at the museum, an ongoing example of good citizenship!

The theme of Veterans’ Week this year is “Share the Story”. Whether it is our honoured veterans, or those presently serving, each has their own experiences to share. Their stories are Canada’s stories. And so for you, our country’s newest Canadians, they are now your stories too.

It is perhaps among our most sacred responsibilities as Canadians — to never forget the sacrifice of those who have given so much to protect the rights we enjoy as citizens today.

To our new citizens — welcome.

To our Honoured Veterans — on behalf of the government and on behalf of a grateful nation today we ask that you please accept our heartfelt thanks.