Mr. Chairman, esteemed members of this committee, it gives me great pleasure this morning to be here with you, and I want to thank you for inviting me to be able to share some views with you in terms of the citizenship process, as well as, perhaps, my qualifications to try to fulfill this great role.
I am, Mr. Chairman, very blessed that about 40 years ago my parents made a decision--I had no part in it, so I will not take the credit--to gather some courage. From a small village in Punjab, India, they wanted to come to Canada. At that time, Mr. Chair and ladies and gentlemen, first of all, we had no money. Secondly, the India reserve bank was going through some problems, and they did not have enough foreign exchange for us to take any money with us, so we basically came with $9 in our pockets.
Since then, Mr. Chair, the family has worked very hard. Certainly the values that my dad's forefathers instilled in him he tried to instill in us to get the best education possible. In fact, if you want to go back--I don't think any of us can personally go back that far--there was a ship in the history of Canadian immigration called Komagata Maru. On that famous ship, or infamous ship, depending on which side of the spectrum you look at, my grandfather, when he was 18 years old, he came to this great land. Unfortunately, that ship was not allowed to dock in British Columbia. In fact, that ship was bombarded by cannons.
He was a very enterprising man of 18 years. Along with three of his friends, they jumped ship in Mexico--this is an untold story. They jumped ship, came back to Mexico, the U.S.A., back to Canada, where they actually worked on the east-west rail connection, along with Chinese friends, along with the Canadians. He was paid 10¢ an hour, whereas so-called Canadians were paid 25¢ an hour.
But I do recollect, just like yesterday--I must have been eight or nine years old--sitting around his cot in the village in Punjab, listening to these great stories of a wonderful land where the land is great and people are respected. One thing he told us, he said, “Rami, get out. Get out, go out, enjoy the world, travel, but before you do, try to learn the language.” So I was very happy that in the winter of 1968 my parents decided to come to Canada, and just like any typical immigrant, first generation--we all go through different stories. I'm sure each one of the members here, either directly or indirectly, either themselves or through their families, has great stories of settlement in Canada.
In fact, the other day, I think it was Friday, when I was holding a court of citizenship, the clerk said to the new candidates, the people receiving citizenship, “Here is a true example in Judge Gill of an immigrant coming in, first generation, settling in, and working hard to perhaps dream, dream big, and enjoy some of the fruits of labour.”
In fact, I was very, very blessed, Mr. Chair and ladies and gentlemen, that I was given an opportunity by the constituents of Bramalea—Gore—Malton—Springdale to represent them as a member of provincial parliament. During my tenure I was very happy to bring forward the largest community hospital in Canada to that riding. So at least there is a legacy.
I'm very, very pleased that I've been given this responsibility and opportunity to serve Canada in this new capacity, and it's my privilege to do my best.
Thank you.