REMARKS DELIVERED BY THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AND CARICOM AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO AT THE CANADA 150 LAUNCH EVENT
Wednesday, February 8th, 2017
It gives me immense pleasure to share your company this evening as we launch the celebrations for the 150th anniversary year of the Canadian Confederation, which began with the signing of British North America Act, now known as the Constitution Act, on July 1st, 1867.
We also acknowledge the importance and relevance of the main themes for the 150th anniversary of Confederation, which are diversity and inclusion, reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, the environment and youth.
Canada has long been a diverse and accepting nation. Being Canadian means embracing multiculturalism and diversity as a national asset. This is a fundamental value shared by Canada and Trinidad and Tobago: we both appreciate diversity as an immeasurable source of strength, pride, enrichment and beauty, as well as a driver of innovation and creativity.
The Government of Canada will be commemorating this historical occasion with a range of activities throughout this year, 2017. Indeed, 2017 promises to be a year-long, nationwide party, spread across ten provinces, three territories and six time zones, and punctuated by the biggest July 1st Canada Day commemoration the country has ever seen.
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, has pointed out that the country’s sesquicentennial gives the Government of Canada an opportunity to engage and inspire Canadians in their communities and has noted that this milestone is also a time to come together to celebrate Canada’s shared values, achievements, majestic environment and place in the world.
We here in Trinidad and Tobago certainly agree that Canadians have much to offer and share on the world stage in terms of art, history, culture, languages and landscapes, but also, and perhaps more importantly, in the way of demonstrating good human values. In the 150 years since Confederation, Canada, as a country, has transformed into a world leader politically, culturally, and economically.
This is important in these troubling times, when one hears much that is worrisome and sorrowful; of horrible acts that represent a lack of humanity, of bigotry and prejudice. The world, in this context, is highly susceptible to forgetting a fundamental truth, of which the Prime Minister of Canada reminded us in his maiden Address to the UN General Assembly last year: fear and divisiveness cannot be allowed to thrive at the expense of mutual understanding and inclusiveness.
The relationship between Trinidad and Tobago and Canada is close and long-standing and I am convinced that both countries will not allow each other to take for granted the obligation we have to serve as bridge-builders and peacekeepers and an example to the world of all that is possible when human beings of all backgrounds learn to live in peace and harmony together.
In closing, I would like to describe Canada in the words of the Canadian lawyer and diplomat who served as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada, Vincent Massey: Canada is not a melting pot. Canada is an association of peoples who have, and cherish, great differences but who work together because they can respect themselves and each other.
Ladies and gentlemen, I invite you to join me in a toast to the Government and people of Canada in the celebration of the launch of the 150th anniversary year of Confederation. May we pursue our goals with a renewed sense of collaboration and partnership during this milestone year and beyond!
I thank you for your attention.
