Charlottetown, Tuesday, November 8, 2005

We have come here today to rededicate an important part of the heritage of Prince Edward Island, and of Charlottetown.

For many years, the guns of the Prince Edward Battery guarded the city from potential invaders. They signalled important days throughout the year and saluted visiting dignitaries. The guns were also the tools that enabled the gunners stationed here to win numerous national artillery awards in the late 1800s and the early 1900s.

The guns and the dedicated men who served here are an important part of the history of this province, and of the history of Canada. And now, thanks to the PEI Colonial Militia Association, this important historical landmark is to be reborn.

I want to applaud the commitment and the efforts of the Association members who have raised the funds to make this possible. Your civic pride is commendable, and is an inspiring example for all Canadians who wish to give back to their communities.

You have certainly given us a fitting way to mark the 150^th anniversary of the official incorporation of Charlottetown, in 1855. As we celebrate this anniversary, we stand at a site that has seen its fair share of history.

The first Mi’kmaq settlers came to what is now Prince Edward Island several thousand years ago.

They were followed by the French, who established the first European settlement on the Island in 1720, at Port La Joye, which we can see in the distance, across the harbour.

In 1758, the British took control of Port La Joye and the Island. Fort Amherst was built where Port La Joye had been, and the site now known as Charlottetown was chosen as the capital of the new colony.

Of course, that was not the end of Charlottetown’s experience with warfare. In 1775, two American privateers raided the tiny settlement, stealing the colony’s official seal, and capturing a number of hostages.

Which brings us back to the Prince Edward Battery. In 1805—two hundred years ago—it was installed here at “Fort Edward”, built by the British as a further defence of the harbour.

All of which to say… Charlottetown may have been officially incorporated in 1855, but the community is, of course, much older.

Naturally, no mere recitation of the historical record can do justice to the achievements of a community. Dates in a history book do not capture the heartbreak and the triumphs of the first farmers who settled here and began working the land after Samuel Holland’s survey in the 1760s.

In this special anniversary year, the people of Charlottetown, and indeed all Islanders, have a great deal to be proud of. Through the centuries, you have built a remarkable home for yourselves—prosperous and progressive, committed to the time-honoured activity of farming, but also enthusiastically turned toward the future.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Prince Edward Island for the warm welcome you have given my family and me.

I came here with a sense of attachment to this place, as a fellow islander, and I have not been disappointed. I have found the people as interesting, as pleasant and as engaging as your province is beautiful.

I have appreciated the conversations I have had during my brief stay here, with elected officials, with new citizens of Canada, with community leaders, and with the people of PEI.

The points of view and the human experiences that you have shared with me will certainly inform and influence my thinking on many issues. What I have heard here will also influence the dialogue I intend to have with other Canadians.

I see this as a dialogue between equal citizens.

I want to give voice to Canadians who may not be always being heard in the national conversation. As someone who experienced hardship as a young girl, and who investigated cases of injustice as a journalist, I know difficult it can be for the vulnerable to find a voice. I want to help.

I also want to invite Canadians to participate in the dialogue. We all have experiences to share, we all have ideas to contribute, we all have a role to play in making Canada better than it is.

I hope you will accept that invitation. I hope you will join me in breaking down the solitudes that still divide Canadians, and work for a society where all citizens enjoy the same rights and the same opportunities.

I hope I can count on your support in the weeks and months ahead, so that, together, we can write another page in the history of this city, this province, and this nation.

Thank you very much.