Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis took part in an event of the Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal, along with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau.
At the start of the event, Kyriakos Mitsotakis was named Honorary President of the Community, in recognition of his work. “You have made us so proud,” said the President of the community center where the event was hosted, George Tsoukas.
Expatriates thanked Prime Minister and Prime Minister of Canada for their steadfast support to the expatriate and on plans to build a new, “green” community center that will include cultural spaces, sports and school facilities, outlined in the joint statement adopted earlier by the two leaders. Justin Trudeau announced at the event that the Canadian government will provide 10 million Canadian dollars in support.
The speech of Kyriakos Mitsotakis
“I am really happy to be here in Montreal, one of the biggest centers of Ecumenical Hellenism. Thank you for this wonderful welcome. Thank you very much.
Prime Minister Trudeau, I was so inspired by your statements. I will set aside the statement I had prepared. So let me first say how honored I am to be here with you today. It is an honor to be the first Greek Prime Minister in 41 years to officially visit Canada, a country with which we have such strong ties.
But you know something? While looking through my archive, I discovered something interesting. Because 41 years ago, young Justin Trudeau visited Athens with his father and two younger siblings. I have a picture of it here. For a teenager, he shows real interest in what he’s seeing. I will give him this photo as a souvenir.
I can’t imagine a better place to spend Hellenic Independence Day than to be with you here in Montreal, to celebrate these diverse facets, the vigor and dynamism of the Greek Canadian community.
I was so impressed as I watched the parade today, seeing people from different generations, proud Canadians, proud Greeks, proud of your heritage in Greece, standing up for what Prime Minister Trudeau said.
This was a great achievement of your country, dear Justin. One can be both a proud Canadian and a proud Greek. It is a testament to what makes this country so great.
Of course, for us, Greek Independence Day, March 25, is a very special day, because it was the day that the Greeks rebelled once morest all odds, fought for their independence and prevailed. This is the beginning of the modern Greek state. Over the past 203 years, we’ve certainly had our good times and our bad times. It wasn’t a smooth ride. Democracy is never an easy exercise. But I am proud to stand here in front of you and tell you that, yes, Greece today is in a very, very good situation.
We have overcome significant difficulties. We have spent a decade experiencing a deep economic and social crisis. When we were first elected in 2019, my first job was to ensure that the economy returns to a sustainable growth path, that we create jobs, that we reduce unemployment and that we can attract back young Greeks who have not other option than to leave Greece during the deep economic crisis.
Five years later, Greece is growing at a rate much faster than that of the Eurozone. It attracts significant foreign investment. She has put her finances in order. But the most important thing is what you tell me, that you are once more proud to be Greek, that Greece is no longer the “black sheep” of the European family. It is a self-confident country, effectively represented in the European Union and working with its partners to solve very, very complex global problems.
You have a key role to play in this effort. Because one of the reasons why I decided to spend Greek Independence Day with you was because we made an important decision in the Greek Parliament a few months ago: we decided, for the first time in our history, to give you the possibility to vote in the Greek elections by postal vote, without having to go to the Embassy or return to Greece. It is important for us in Greece that you, those of you who have the right to vote in Greece, can participate in these elections.
We have an online platform that is open. You can register until the end of April. I would encourage you to do so, because Justin said something very important: “democracy is never easy”. But at the end of the day, the strength of our democracies depends very much on the democratic participation of all citizens. The less citizens participate in democratic processes, the less legitimacy elected leaders will have.
As a community that is deeply interested in what is happening in Greece, we want you to have a real say, first of all in the European elections, which are very important because they determine the MEPs who will represent us in the European Parliament for the next five years. Then, in the upcoming national elections, in 2027. We are counting on you and want you to actively participate in Greek domestic politics. That’s why we want you to participate in this election, and I’m sure you will.
With Prime Minister Trudeau we had the opportunity to discuss a number of issues of common interest. We discussed the major challenges we face at the international level. We both, as Justin said, visited Ukraine. We saw first hand the destruction, pain and suffering caused by an unjust war. We reaffirmed our commitment to a rules-based international order. We cannot accept the violation of borders by the use of force. That is why we stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes to enable Ukrainians to defend themselves in the best possible way.
We also discussed the other important global challenges. Global warming is one of them. Both our countries were hit by devastating fires last year and it is indeed a great privilege to be today the first European country to sign a contract for seven new firefighting aircraft to be built here in Canada to replace our aging Canadair fleet.
We were instrumental in convincing the European Union to co-finance this project and a total of 24 planes will be purchased from five different European countries. Everything will be made in Canada. This is further proof of how we can work together to tackle global challenges such as global warming.
We also discussed the threats to our democracy, the fact that political dialogue today can become so divisive, so corrosive, that we struggle to recognize the other point of view, to approach the other side, to build consensus, all of which are so fundamental to a vibrant democracy continuing to function and prosper. These are challenges that we must face without hesitation.
In 2024, think regarding it, almost half of the world’s population will vote in elections. This will be the biggest election year in history. However, we are in an era where we are bombarded with new challenges, with fake news, with deep fakes, with artificial intelligence that can be used by those who want to disrupt democratic processes. We, all democratic countries, must align and work together to address these challenges. As you can see, there is a lot that Greece and Canada can do together.
But once more, let me finish where I started. The reason I’m here is to honor the incredible dynamism of the Greek Canadian community, especially this community here in Montreal. Mr. Prime Minister, you have done great things. The quality of your schools, the social networks you have created, the ability to educate your children in three languages - French, English, Greek – these are particularly noteworthy achievements. I feel that I must now also sign a check for the new community centre, but I cannot do so unless I have the approval of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Be sure, however, that we will continue to support the Greek diaspora.
We have for the first time a national strategy for our diaspora, which was approved by the Cabinet a month ago. We have new tools, online tools, to help young children learn Greek: an amazing program called “Sta Ελληνικά”, which was developed at Simon Fraser University and is being piloted for other languages as well. The Prime Minister was telling me that he is using the same technology for some of your indigenous languages. This is, I believe, another remarkable demonstration of how we can work together.
At the end of the day, though, what I will remember most regarding this day is the image of the little kids who sang both the Canadian and Greek national anthems with equal pride, with equal energy, with equal enthusiasm.
Long live Greece, long live Canada, long live March 25th.
Thank you very much for your warm welcome to both of us here today. Thank you very much”
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