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SPEAKING REMARKS FOR
THE HONOURABLE MONTE SOLBERG
MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP
AND IMMIGRATION

to the

University of Victoria Citizenship Ceremony

Victoria, B.C.
July 26, 2006

Check against delivery

* * * * *

Thank you and good morning. I am honoured to be here today to welcome you, Canada’s newest citizens.

I am called upon to do many things as a Minister—but this is one of the activities that I enjoy and value the most. Each and every one of you is a unique combination of skills and talents, hopes and dreams, and I know, you are each eager to make your mark on our great country.

You are Canada’s future and that is a very exciting prospect.

We welcome your decision to choose Canada:

• To strengthen our values—freedom, peace, respect, justice, and to accept the responsibility to vote.
• To help build our communities—through compassion, tolerance, hard work, perseverance and ingenuity.
• And, most of all, to join our family—to identify yourself to the world as Canadians.

I am sure if I were to go around this room and ask the question “When did you first really feel Canadian?” I would get a whole range of answers from, “when I first arrived,” to “when I first spoke one of Canada’s official languages,” to “when I first saw a hockey game.”

But today you no longer have to “feel” Canadian, you are Canadian! By choosing to become a full member of the Canadian family, you have expressed your permanent commitment and attachment to this country. And that makes this day one to remember and celebrate.

There is no question that “being Canadian” is something to treasure.

I know you can appreciate what it means to be Canadian, partly because you know what Canada as a country means outside of our borders. You can understand first hand what others experience when they meet our Canadian diplomats, our soldiers, our tourists, our business people, our students, our emergency response teams. It may have been such a meeting that drew you to Canada. We are a welcoming nation—and people the around the world know that.

For example, there are over 150,000 international students currently studying in Canada. What a tremendous benefit that is for the Canadian students studying alongside them, and, what a potential source of future citizens for our country.

Since we’re at the University of Victoria today—I want to draw attention to a project I announced just a few months ago. We now have a Work Permit Program which allows foreign students in Canada to find jobs and work off-campus. This is a win/win situation for all. The students are able to gain a broader appreciation of Canada beyond the academic halls, and Canadians benefit from the new ideas and experiences these students bring to the workplace.

Our off-campus program is only one of many that Canada’s new government has created to enhance newcomers participation in our country, and to encourage people to make Canada their permanent home.

I would like to take this opportunity to speak to you about a student that may be well-known to some of you. This is an immigrant success story right here among you. This year’s winner of the University of Victoria Jubilee Medal in Science is Anna Burianova whose family immigrated to Canada when she was a teenager from Bratislava, Slovakia.

Anna had a perfect score in all her courses over four years at the University (with the exception of an A minus in first-year English!) and she achieved the highest grade point average ever in the University of Victoria ’s Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology.

She was also active on the varsity women’s volleyball team and has been a timeless contributor to a number of community organizations.

Anna is working this summer at the National Research Council in Ottawa. She will be studying Medical Genetics this September on a post-graduate scholarship at the University of Calgary.

Anna and her family chose Canada to be their permanent home. And, now, I am delighted that each of you has made the decision to make Canada your permanent home.