Letter from the Prime Minister
Free We Choose Canada Newsletter
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Gerard's story
- came from India, now a Canadian
I came to Canada from Bombay, India. After arriving in Canada,
I fell in love with the place; I love the diversity and the respect that
most of the people show towards each others culture, religion and beliefs.
I feel at home here, as I felt accepted right away. I have dreams to achieve
certain things in life and I feel Canada gives me the opportunity to go
as far as I can, to achieve these dreams.
I have been treated fairly in every respect of life in this country and
never felt discriminated. I currently have a great job and intend to do
well ahead. I love Canada and am very patriotic towards it. I would like
to be a ambassador of Canada's message of peace and tolerance in this
world. I am proud to be a part of this great, naturally beautiful and
progressive country.......'Oh Canada I will stand on guard for thee'.
Barbara's
story - came from Germany, now a Canadian
I came to Canada with my parents and sister in 1952 when I was
8 years old and it was still much harder to get into Canada. The first
choice to come to Canada was my father's since he heard that Canada was
the land of the "free". The second choice, was my very own.
As an adult with dual citizenship, I had the choice of going back to live
in Germany or remain in Canada.
I chose Canada because of the wonderful and helpful Canadians I had met along my life's journey so far. They were extremely nice and kind and tolerant of my language difficulties when first coming from Germany and helped me learn to speak and read English very quickly. Many of the Canadians were warm and kind-hearted and often invited me to have dinner in their homes because I was friends with their children and they wanted to get to know the German culture better as I wanted to know the Canadian culture better also.
When I married and had my children, we saw Canada from Vancouver to P.E.I. and marvelled at the great vastness and beauty of this magnificent country. We were all in 'awe' of the diversity of people who got along so beautifully and who not only accepted but embraced the "differences" of their neighbours. It was wonderful to see!
Canada is also the country where I was "free" to choose my own path and to pursue my dreams of becoming an educational writer and publisher of my own educational publishing house called Clarke House. The "entrepreneurial" dream is alive and well and you are free to make your dreams come true. Not only are Canadians helpful but they are well-mannered and courteous to other people worldwide. What a great reputation, we Canadians have on the global market!
Canada is the country of my choice. It's a decision I have never regretted!
Jacqueline’s
story – came to Canada from the Caribbean
I came to Canada when I was 13 years old. It was very cold when
I came here from the Caribbean, but I adjusted and learned about the vast
land of Canada. As an afro-Canadian, I have never heard white Canadians
talk about the contributions that the black Canadians made to this great
land!
I have met some really wonderful white Canadians both here and in my homeland and they don’t reflect any of the selfish values that most of their country men-women hold. Jo Jo Chinto from City-TV did a series during the black history month of 2003, and I found that lots of black children in the school system lose interests in the education here in Canada, simply because their heritage is not a part of the curriculum. I understand that you’re a businesswoman so you can realize how important it is to market your whole idea. You can understand how important it is not to leave out anything or anyone.
Canada is a beautiful landscape, with great cultures and wonderful people when you come across them. But we must start speaking the truth about systemic issues and really make this wonderful land and cultures, truly inclusive and let all young Canadians know that they are all important and everyone’s cultural contribution is documented and appreciated.
I can share horror stories with you, but I am a tough cookie and I believe in pushing ahead irrespective of what other norms are. I would like some ideas from you as a Businesswoman, I am strongly thinking of going into a home based business for myself, so if you could spare the time to share some ideas as to what is out there and do’s and don’ts of getting started, I would greatly appreciate your feed back.
John’s
story – Canadian
A belated Canada Day! Fifty-five years ago I arrived as a two-year-old
(with parents in tow) at Pier 21 in Halifax, one of the hundreds of thousands
of children who landed in this country because our parents thought Canada
would be a good place in which to raise their children. And every Canada
Day I give thanks to this country, and to my parents for the vast wisdom
of their choice.
Alice’s
story – came to Canada from Iraq (interviewed by Donna Messer)
Alice works at my local gas station, and she is from Iraq. We
have exchanged hellos countless times as I pay for my gas and hurry onto
my merry way. I have often wondered what her story is. On the day that
I launched We Choose Canada, I specifically made a visit to Alice to ask
her about making the choice to live in Canada. This is what she told me:
Alice has been in Canada for the past 17 years. Her family is scattered
around the world; in the USA, Sweden, Britain and Canada. She loves our
country, I asked her if she was celebrating Canada Day and she said “of
course!” Why? Because Canada is a wonderful place to work and live.
Alice said she lost 5 cousins, all under 24 in the war in Iraq –
according to Alice, peace and prosperity are what Canada is all about.