Message from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, on the occasion of Citizenship Week

October 19, 2009

OTTAWA — People all around the world see Canada as a country where anything is possible, a country where justice and harmony reign and everyone can realize their full potential.

Since the start of my mandate, I have had the privilege of travelling all around this vast and astonishing country of ours, going from community to community, and I have seen the openness and solidarity of our people. During this Citizenship Week, let us celebrate the strength of our heritage, all the cultures that live side by side to create Canada’s rich diversity, our democratic and inalienable values that are so admired around the world, and the social peace we enjoy and hold up to others as an example.

We are incredibly lucky and should be very proud to live in a country where respect, tolerance and sharing prevail. We should also be proud of our Canadian citizenship and our feeling of belonging to this generous land that accommodates all our dreams and achievements. While conflicts continue to divide entire populations around the world, it is important to recognize and cherish our freedoms, rights and happiness, but to not forget our obligations and responsibilities to the rest of humanity.

Regardless of where you are this Citizenship Week, let us honour the efforts made by Canadians to commit acts of compassion, to defend the ideal of a better world, and to combine forces for the good of their fellow Canadians and people all around the world.

Michaëlle Jean

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Canada’s Citizenship Week is celebrated each year during the third week of October.

Media information
Marie-Ève Létourneau
Rideau Hall Press Office
613-998-0287
www.gg.ca
www.citizenvoices.gg.ca