Mr. Speaker, today on Heritage Day we celebrate our unique Canadian culture, values and institutions, our shared identity.
Whether we were born here or came from across the oceans, whether we came earlier or later, together we have built this great nation.
From time to time the tentacles of disunity have threatened the virtue of national cohesion. Today Canadians are proud to live in a country that is number one in the world in quality of life, for we promote accommodation, not assimilation. We are idealistic, not ruggedly individualistic.
We pursue pleasure to enrich our lives, not simply to gain material wealth. We work to sustain peace, order and good government. We reject violence.
Today let us harness the strength of our unique nationhood. Let us preserve one geography, one national soul, and achieve one national dream for our youth of today and their children of tomorrow.