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The Joy of Becoming Canadian
Innisfil Enterprise
January 3, 2007
By Peter Van Loan, MP, York-Simcoe
Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking at
a special Canadian Citizenship ceremony to
mark the end of 2006. Over 100 new
Canadians had completed their requisite
three years of residence and passed the
knowledge and language tests necessary to
qualify and take the Oath of Citizenship.
They came from 24 countries around the
world. It was the achievement of a
dream for most.
The event was a special ceremony in that two
judges presided, a Mountie in full Red Serge
stood watch, a professional singer (ably
assisted by the children involved) took
everyone through the national anthem, and a
federal Cabinet Minister offered some
thoughts on what it meant to be Canadian.
I spoke about the experience of my family,
who came here from Estonia. My
grandfather had been an agronomist there,
and my grandmother a lawyer. But with
World War Two came successive waves of
Soviet and Nazi occupation. Many in my
family died in the Soviet Gulag, or
otherwise at the hands of the occupiers.
With the annexation of Estonia into the
USSR, my family had no choice but to flee,
or face a certain death. They escaped
as refugees to Sweden, and ultimately made
their way to Canada - in search of freedom,
hope and opportunity.
The agronomist went to work in a paper
factory in Riverdale, and the lawyer went to
work on the order desk at Sears. And
they found in Canada all the freedom, hope
and opportunity they were seeking.
Years later, raised on stories of the
family's past, I became involved politically
because I had come to appreciate how
important, yet how fragile, the freedom and
democracy that we enjoy, can be.
I remember, as a child, asking my
grandmother if she would ever return to live
in Estonia if it became free again (which it
ultimately did). She told me no.
"We can be proud of our heritage, but Canada
is our home now".
She continued, "Canada is the best country
in the world. But it can be so much
better than it is today. Your
obligation, as you grow up, is to give back
of your time and abilities to make Canada
that better place". It was a sentiment
that helped shape me.
Years later, standing in front of those new
Canadians, many who had tears in their eyes,
I commended them for choosing Canada - and
echoed my grandmother's sentiments in my
words.
"This is a great country, where you are free
to build a brighter future for yourself and
your family. I encourage to embrace
that freedom, work for a brighter future,
and do your part to build a better Canada"
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