PM welcomes Aga Khan to Canada

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Good morning/afternoon ladies and gentlemen.  Greetings, your Highness.  Greetings also to Her Excellency, Adrienne Clarkson; to my friends and parliamentary colleagues, ministers Jason Kenney, Bev Oda, John Baird and Senator Vim Kochar, to the Honourable Michael Ignatieff and members of the opposition; to members of the provincial legislature and the city council; and to distinguished guests from the Canadian Ismaili community.

I am very pleased to be here for the foundation ceremony for the Ismaili Centre, Aga Khan Museum and Park.

Your Highness, on behalf of the Government and the people of Canada, and especially Torontonians, I want to thank you and the Aga Khan Development Network for choosing this great city as the site for the Museum.

Like the beautiful delegation of the Ismaili Imamat you built in Ottawa, the museum, and the gorgeous formal gardens and Ismaili Centre that are to accompany it, promise to be another stunning addition to Canada’s growing array of architectural treasures.

Even more exciting are the proposed contents of the Museum - a rich repository of art and artefacts tracing the evolution of Muslim culture through the ages.

It will be, quite literally, a grand destination for visitors from across Canada, and around the world.  It will introduce people of other faiths and cultural backgrounds to the compelling history of Islam: one of the world’s great religions and the inspiration for so many major advances In art, science, music and philosophy.

In this, it will serve your lifelong mission to promote pluralism, peace and tolerance through the expansion of knowledge and understanding.

The importance of this work, in a world torn by sectarian strife that subjects millions of innocent people to violence, oppression and poverty, that importance cannot be overstated.

As we saw only this morning, in the shameful attack on two mosques in Pakistan, the fruits of hatred are always the colour of blood.

The government of Canada condemns in the strongest terms these vicious murders.

And this reminds us why the work of the Aga Khan, and our own values of toleration for people of differing religious beliefs, are so important.

The Museum will also complement the activities of the global centre for pluralism in Ottawa, a partnership of the Aga Khan Development Network and the Government of Canada, which is dedicated to the promotion of ethnic, cultural and religious interchange, education and harmony.

And the Ismaili Centre here is a symbol of how the Canadian Ismaili community has integrated into Canadian society, a mark of Canadian pluralism at its best.

Your Highness, there are no superlatives to adequately describe the admiration Canadians have for the work that you and your organizations do in the service of pluralism, peace and development around the world.  You truly inspire our own hopes
for a better world.

We Canadians are rightly proud of the fact that we have built one of the most ethnically, culturally diverse and harmonious societies on earth.  This achievement is rooted in our most fundamental values; freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.  But it’s also rooted in our unique history and the heroic compromises our forbearers made to acknowledge and accommodate their diversity.

As you yourself have said, Your Highness, and I quote: "we cannot make the world
safe for democracy unless we also make the world safe for diversity."

If I may say so, sir, you sound like a Canadian.

And, in fact, you are.

On June 19, 2009, our House of Commons voted unanimously to bestow Honorary Canadian citizenship on his Highness, the Aga Khan.

The motion introduced by our government and supported by all parties recognized,
And I quote, that:

"…the Aga Khan, leader of the worldwide Ismaili Muslim community, is a beacon of humanitarianism, pluralism and tolerance throughout the world; …the Aga Khan is also actively involved in humanitarian and development projects throughout Asia and Africa; …[and] Canadians are grateful for the Aga Khan's efforts in Afghanistan where today the Aga Khan Development Network is a vital partner in our efforts to secure and improve the lives of Afghan citizens;"

To which I would only add, that the motion also recognizes the exquisite symmetry between your values and Canadian values, and our deep appreciation for the extraordinary contributions you are making to Canada and the world through the delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, the global centre for pluralism and the Aga Khan Museum.

It is therefore my great honour and pleasure, on behalf of the Government and people of Canada, to formally present you today with that honorary Canadian citizenship.

Welcome to our home and native land, your Highness.  It is now and forever your home as well.

All News

---

Related Items