Proud to be Canadian - not only on Canada Day

July 01, 2009

As the Member of Parliament for Edmonton East it has been my privilege to represent Edmonton East and Canada on the community and international stage. Whether it has been serving as an election monitor in Georgia, Ukraine, Haiti or Guyana, representing Canada at international conferences in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, or Greenland, or travelling with Canadian veterans returning to battlefield memories in Europe and Asia, I have always had a sense of what it means to be Canadian and projected this internationally.

It was that sense that led me to Parliament in the first place. As a businessman I had only a passing interest in politics, however being in Quebec City for the October 1995 referendum that almost saw Quebec vote to leave Canada changed all that. What I saw disturbed me and caused me to dedicate my future to working for Canada and Canadian unity.

Following the Quebec Referendum I organized the Western Canada Branch of the Special Committee For Canadian Unity, starting on a journey that would see me getting involved in party politics, then as a politician taking the unity message to Quebec and standing up against the separatists on behalf of Canada.

Throughout my time in public office I have emphasized how privileged Canadians are to have the country we do and we shouldn’t take our freedoms and democratic institutions for granted. I have been present in Edmonton as new citizens are sworn in as Canadians, and seen the joy as people from all over the world adopt Canada as their new home and say “I want to be a Canadian.” Those newcomers to this country understand the value of Canadian citizenship.

For me Canada Day is something to be celebrated every day, not just on July 1st. What do you think?