By William Doyle-Marshall
"Canada isn't a parking lot. It isn't the place where you come and say 'I am staying here for a little while and then I am going to go somewhere else.'" This was the key message Bob Rae, Leader of the Federal Liberal Party in the House of Commons left in his keynote address to the Canada Day dinner of the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada headed by Thomas Saras.
The veteran politician told 250 celebrants they are creating something here and that means they are building something that is different than what existed where they came from.
"Yes, we remember where we came from and we connect where we came from but what we are building here is unique and special and it brings us together," Rae emphasized.
The assembly of media personnel and their friends and family members were reminded that freedom is very special. Stopping people from being able to speak their minds is a terrible thing, Rae said. All the multicultural media, all of the voices that are in newspapers and on the Internet and on the radio and everywhere they are, are expressing a reality about Canada that other people wouldn't be able to cover, he observed.
"The mainstream so called media wouldn't necessarily be able to reflect all of that. But we are seeing the gap close between the two kinds of media," Rae added.
Asha Rajak, chief executive officer of the NEPMCC reminded all that it was a non partisan gathering and they were there to celebrate freedom, dreams, hopes and struggles of a new life.
In celebrating 144th anniversary of Canada, she was proud to be part of a country with a great spirit of acceptance and inclusiveness of sympathy, willing to help and provide opportunities for the future of all its citizens and their children. Overall she admitted that this is a country where every culture is celebrated and every religion is accepted; every language is free to flourish and citizens are encouraged to respect and honour their cultural traditions and to be proud of their cultural backgrounds.
Rae apprised the gathering that in celebrating Canada Day, they were celebrating the freedom they have, the vitality of the country's ethnic press and its multicultural media. It was important to realize, he counseled, there are many parts of the world like Sri Lanka, Russia, parts of Africa and.the Middle East, that do not experience freedom.
"Today there were as many as 20 people killed in Syria. I can assure you there is no free press in Syria. The Ahmadiya community (community of Muslims) in Canada who are a particular sect within the Muslim family are subjected to severe persecution in Pakistan; they are subject to severe persecution in Iran; they are subject to persecution as far away as Indonesia. So that community which is huge in Canada (tens of thousands), had 10,000 people in Calgary for Canada Day. The community had 8,000 people at the International Convention Center celebrating Canada Day in Toronto, Rae noted.
Eight hundred guests and 13,200 members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at attended their 35th Annual Convention held over the weekend. It began with Canada Day celebrations.
The Liberal Leader was adamant that this value of freedom that Canadians have in is only good if it is used. "It's like what the doctors tell us about our muscles. If we don't use them they are not going to do us much good. So freedom is great with people of different political parties that are here tonight, that are all jockeying for your support and position and we have different newspapers and media that are competing with each other for attention," Rae remonstrated.
Having been in politics now for over 30 years Rae disclosed that he doesn't always like all the things that have been said about him in newspapers, on the radio or on television. But that doesn't matter, he stressed. "What matters is that you are saying it, that you are exercising that freedom. But freedom is only good if we use it. So use it. Criticize power; tell truth to power; express the views of your community; don't be afraid to punch and punch back. Not with your fist but with your voices and with your hearts and with your passion. That's what makes it great," he exhorted.
Greetings came from Jim Karygiannis MP for Scarborough Agincourt, Toronto City Councillor Mary Fragedakis Dr. Gervan Fearon, Dean of the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, Ryerson University.
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