Winnipeg, Thursday, October 20, 2005

My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I are pleased to be with you at this memorable moment when you officially join Canada's big family. We know how important for you is the experience you are going through today. It marks a culminating point in your own lives.

As I look at you, I cannot help recalling the moment when I myself became a Canadian. I remember the struggles of my mother, my sister and myself to join my father, who had gone ahead of us to Canada—struggles to cross the threshold to the future. I remember the last day in the land of my birth, which had become a prison for us, and I recall our arrival in Montréal on a winter's night. I remember our readiness to start again from zero and to put all our strength into the effort, despite the many obstacles. Last, I remember our hope of seeing our story added to the collective memory of this country that had taken us in.

Thanks to the unique adventures of those who live here or who settle here, our country contains the world and is an example of unprecedented openness. It is vast, certainly, but above all it is rich in having so many tongues, accents and experiences. For many, it is a spark of hope that we have a responsibility to keep alive for the greatest number. It is a country where anything is possible, and where each person can participate fully in its development. For myself, who was a refugee, who as a girl had seen my parents, my family and my friends grappling with the horrors of a ruthless dictatorship, it is an unmatched land of freedom.

There are numerous reasons for wanting to take part in the great adventure of Canada. People from around the world come here to explore new opportunities and contribute to our plans for the future. Others, like me and my family, come to start their lives over in a land where they are sheltered from injustice and far from massacres. Every story is unique. But one thing is sure: we have found here the ideal of a society in which all citizens enjoy equal rights. We must not understate this good fortune or pass over it in silence, when barbarism afflicts so many countries and drives so many people to despair.

The coat of arms that I have chosen as governor general represents the Canada that all of us want for generations to come. Briser les solitudes—“Breaking down solitudes”; think about that. It means giving each and every one of us the capacity to utilize our potential in every aspect, and to get involved through our words and actions in our community. The solitude that confines some people, or some segments of the population, has no place in a country where the values of respect, sharing and tolerance prevail—values that are paramount for me.

Each citizen comes to enrich Canada with his or her own story, experience and view of the world. This new citizenship confers on us rights but also responsibilities. We must help to revitalize the dialogue that for me is the founding principle of this country.

Your story is now our story, and I encourage you to share it with your fellow citizens and to take every opportunity of enlivening our society with your unique contribution. Democracy in action starts from the will and the opportunity that we have to take action, right in the place where we live and where we choose to put down roots. In other words, in this generous country, where we have the privilege of dreaming big dreams, for the good of our loved ones and the entire community. This is what it means to integrate into Canadian society.

I am eager now to hear you speak about how you arrived in Canada and what this country means to you. Let me add that our citizenship is also a spirit of fellowship between the women and men who make Canada what it is. And so I say to you, welcome! All my wishes for your happiness and success.