Millarville, Friday, May 5, 2006

My daughter Marie-Éden and I have been looking forward to meeting you. We have already heard about you from your teachers, Loretta and Patti. The letters you sent us helped us to get to know you a little better. I read every one, and I must say, I was deeply touched.

I was touched by how proud you are of your school. How much you love your teachers. How excited you are to learn. And how open you are to the rest of the world. Many of you wrote that you were born in other countries, like Germany and Scotland. You told me that this is a great community, a place where you feel at home. Your stories say a lot about your ability to welcome others who are different than you are. I know that respect is a very important value here at your school, and I must applaud you for this. As you know, our country emerged from the coming together of many cultures. We must affirm this in every school in this country, as you are doing here in Millarville.

Whatever our country of origin, wherever we might live in this vast country, we all share a history. Our history is a treasure, one that we enrich with our own experiences. Here, at Millarville Community School, you are reconstructing the treasure that is your past by digging and sifting through the earth. And what wonderful discoveries you have made so far! Which reminds me: Marie‑Éden and I would very much like to see that pocket watch that so many of you wrote about in your letters. You are archaeologists searching for your identity. Every artefact, every item from the past, tells a story: your story.

Marie‑Éden, like me, was born in the poorest country in the Americas. Like you, she is very curious and wants to know everything about the world around her. For her, anything is possible. My hope is that Marie‑Éden and every child in Canada has the opportunity to dream big and realize their full potential. This is why I have made you, our country’s young people, my priority. I am convinced that the present and future of Canada rest in your hands. We must do whatever it takes to prepare you for your responsibilities.

At Millarville Community School, you are giving yourselves the tools to achieve your dreams. My grandmother always said, “Education, my children, is the key to freedom.” And she was right. It gives you the freedom to choose. Because through education, you will find many more choices available to you.

I like to tell others about an experience of my own in my country of origin, Haiti, where I returned to prepare a documentary. By chance I met there, in the village where my mother was born, a little boy whose parents were very poor. They made countless sacrifices so that one of their children could go to school. This little boy walked many kilometres every day to get to school. He told me how grateful he was for his parents’ help; though they could not read or write, they enabled him to obtain an education while his brothers and sisters had to work to support the family. He knew that with what he learned, he would one day have the means to improve the lives of his loved ones and his community. He wanted to become a teacher or a doctor. He wanted to nourish minds or heal bodies.

The story of this little Haitian boy touches me deeply. Not only because it speaks of the courage of a young person and his family helping him to achieve his dream. But also because it reminds me how very fortunate we are in this country, in Canada, to have such easy access to education. I want you to take full advantage of it, as you reflect on this story. And to know what a treasure you have. I sincerely thank your principals and your teachers, who guide you in this quest for knowledge.

But I am here today mainly to hear you speak. You have already started to tell me about yourselves in your letters, and I am certain there is much more to tell. But before we begin, I would like to thank you for opening your doors and your hearts to me. I am truly honoured.