Remarks to the Muslim Community
Good Afternoon
Thank you for joining me for lunch today. My thanks to my friend Emil, who helped organize today's event. He suggested it was a good idea for me to get to know you and for you to get to know me. I agree.
As your Member of Parliament it is important for me to get to know you so that I can learn about the concerns and challenges facing everyone. Armed with this knowledge, I can better represent you in Ottawa.
I'll start off by telling you a bit about myself. I was born and brought up right here in Kitchener. To put myself through university I worked on assembly lines at MTD Products and Budd Automotive. I completed my law degree in 1977 and practiced law for almost 30 years. My wife, Sharon, and I have been blessed with three children, who are now grown. Over the years I have volunteered with many organizations and was elected as a school trustee in 1993, 1997 and 2000. I have also been a reader at my church since 1967.
I believe that every Canadian wants the same things. We all want a country that embodies our community ideals. A place where children grow up strong, healthy and loved. A place where the weak and vulnerable are given a hand up. A place where hard work, tenacity and creativity are rewarded. We want a world where Canada is respected for peace making and constructive partnership. We want a nation where democratic voting matters, because governments deliver on their commitments.
Since being elected, just over a year ago, I have attended many community events. They have not only been very enjoyable but also very informative. I very much enjoy the celebration of many ethnic festivals such as the one you are preparing to celebrate, Eid Al-Adha, next week.
This celebration presented me with the opportunity to learn more about this very important event for Muslims. It also reminded me of how much Abraham or Ibrahim (blessed be his name) means to Muslims, Christians and Jews alike. He is the symbol of absolute obedience to God. The story of his willingness to sacrifice his own son to God is a testament to his devotion.
Like him, some of you have left your homeland and travelled to a different land to make a better life for yourselves. I can only marvel at the strength and determination that must take. I have lived in Kitchener my entire life and I can only imagine how hard it would be to pack up my family and move several thousand miles away, to a new country, perhaps to a new language and a new society.
You and I honour Abraham (blessed be his name) because of his gift of faith. His faith allowed him to follow his duty selflessly. His faith gave him the strength to overcome difficult challenges.
You and I share in that duty. As people of faith in Canada today, you and I have difficult challenges to overcome. I admire the steadfast devotion and selflessness that Islam inspires in you, with Abraham (blessed be his name) as your example.
Each year Canada welcomes well over 200,000 new immigrants to our shores, people who want to make Canada their new home. Canada welcomes these newcomers with a variety of programs and services to help them settle and put them on the path to participation in Canadian society.
Funding for the programs and services in Kitchener is provided under the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement. Through this Agreement, the Government of Canada has increased funding for new Canadians in Ontario by a total of $920 million over five years. This covers basic settlement services, enhanced language training, portal and administration costs.
As recently as October 13, I had the honour of announcing a contribution by the Government of Canada through Citizenship and Immigration of $175,779 to assist the municipalities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo to organize and streamline activities to integrate newcomers better and faster.
I have been told that there is a perception that our Government does not do as much as the former Liberal government to support new arrivals in Canada. Nothing could be further from the truth. In Kitchener alone, since taking office, our government has contributed more than $47.5 million for programs to assist newcomers in this region alone. That averages out to just under $1 ¼ million per month, just since January, 2006.
More than 85% of newcomers become Canadian citizens. On July 1 of this year, I had the pleasure of attending the special citizenship ceremony during the Canada Day celebrations. I was very happy to attend. Normally I am in Ottawa when these ceremonies are held and so I have to send a staff member to welcome the new citizens on my behalf. As soon as possible after each ceremony I hold a meet and greet event with our new Canadian citizens at my office. I am always impressed with how proud people are to call themselves Canadian and with their enthusiasm to contribute to our country - yours and mine.
You may recall that there were no Canadian citizens prior to 1947, when Canada became the first Commonwealth country to gain its own citizenship legislation. The 1947 Canadian Citizenship Act provided a framework for other members of the Commonwealth to develop their own citizenship legislation. Before 1947, Canadians were considered British subjects living in Canada.
Prime Minister Mackenzie King became the first Canadian citizen by taking the oath at the first citizenship ceremony, which was held on January 3, 1947, at the Supreme Court, in Ottawa.
Interestingly, this was 9 years after the first mosque was built in Canada. Do any of you know where that was? (depending on answer) Yes, in Edmonton, Alberta the Al-Rashid Mosque was dedicated in 1938 but that was not when the first Muslims came to Canada. The census of 1871 recorded 13 Muslim residents. That was a mere 14 years after confederation.
Muslims have immigrated to Canada from different parts of the Arab world, from Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, from Iran, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Turkey, Africa, Somalia, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, and South and Central America. As a result, Muslims living in Canada represent not only different ethnic background and races, but different nationalities, languages and cultures as well.
We recognize that the Muslim community is united in faith. But too often in Canada we speak about Muslims as though Muslims are all of one monolithic culture, when, in fact, we know that Islam is a universal faith that is practiced and respected in every country in the world, and that it has within it an amazing cultural diversity. This is indeed reflected in the Muslim community in Canada.
However, problems remain. Shamefully, just recently in Conestoga Mall a young lady wearing a niqap had someone yell at her to go back to her country. She was born in Canada. I know there are some who have distorted and negative stereotypes about Islam and Muslims. We need to work on this, you, me and every forward thinking person in this country. We must also remember that not so long ago there was no shame in an Englishman having a sign in his store window saying "No Irish allowed". That would be unthinkable today, so let's work at making tomorrow the day that no one shouts "go back to your country".
Another recent example was the case of Maher Arar. Our government came to office after this tragic situation, this unjust situation occurred. We corrected it. We came to an honourable settlement with Mr. Arar, expressed an apology and provided generous compensation.
In another recent good measure, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Kenney, announced that the Government of Canada will offer special measures to facilitate immigration to Canada for some Afghan local staff. Some of these Afghans face extraordinary personal risk as a result of their work in support of Canada's mission in Kandahar. We commend their bravery to help build a better Afghanistan while recognizing the price that they have paid. Their lives and those of their families may be threatened by insurgents, and some have suffered serious injury and even been killed. In cases where an eligible worker has lost his life, their wives will be eligible. We cannot leave knowing their lives are at risk, it is not the Canadian way.
Not everyone agrees about Canada's role in the security mission in Afghanistan, but let me say I respect those disagreements. In order to ensure that I understand the Islamic viewpoint I have had a number of lengthy meetings and correspondence with a local Islamic group. I also arranged to meet - just this past Thursday - with Imam Dr. Zÿad Delic, the National Executive Director for the Canadian Islamic Congress. I was very impressed with his training and experience. He expressed very clearly the concerns - may I say frustrations? - of the Canadian Islamic community, and I listened carefully. While we did not agree on every point, it was a warm and friendly conversation - as only a conversation between two men of faith could be.
Also on Thursday, this past week, I had dinner with the High Commissioner for Bangladesh which, as you know, enjoys a population which is 89% Muslim. On behalf of the Islamic Canadian constituents of my riding, I am working hard to inform myself of issues and events in the Islamic world.
People of diverse backgrounds have achieved many successes in Canada. For example, former Conservative Member of Parliament, Rahim Jaffer was the first Muslim to be elected to the House of Commons.
Conservative Deepak Obrai was the first Hindu elected to Parliament and the Prime Minister has appointed him to serve as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Douglas Yung, another Conservative, was the first Chinese Canadian elected to Parliament.
The first Indo-Canadian woman elected to Parliament is a Conservative Member, Nina Grewal. The first Croation Canadian Member of Parliament, Conservative Lynn Yelich. First Greek Canadian Member of Parliament, Conservative Gus Mitges. First Japanese Canadian Cabinet Minister, Bev Oda. First Czeck Canadian Cabinet Minister, Conservative Otto Jelinek. First black Cabinet Minister, Conservative Lincoln Alexander.
Just this week, the Justice Committee, on which I sit, confirmed the appointment of Shirish Chotalia, an Indo Canadian, born in Ethiopia, as Chair of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.
The Canadian Bill of Rights was introduced in 1960 by Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbakeer. The first Canadian Multiculturalism Act was introduced in 1988 by Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
Our government is committed to the family. Our success is a result of our entrepreneurial spirit. We believe in a principled foreign policy. Our government's goal is to represent all Canadians.
All around the world Canada is known for promoting justice and peace. That's why Canadians promote as high ideals, respect of others, tolerance of differing viewpoints and peaceful dispute resolution wherever possible.
All around the world Canada is also known for responsible, careful economic planning. That's why our Government is focussed on the economy. We are taking prudent measures to reduce taxes and to create jobs with targeted short-term stimulus spending. These measures are having an effect - the economy is recovering. But we're not there yet. And our largest trading partner is certainly not out of the woods yet. Too many people still need jobs in both countries. So we have to stay the course. We have to stay focussed on the economy. We have to stay focussed on protecting Canadians from the global economic downturn.
But today, we are here to celebrate Eid-Al-Adha. I hope my remarks have given you a glimpse of who I am and I thank you for the opportunity to address you.
Thank you