Inaugural Speech
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Summary
Learn English with Honourable Chrystia Mahtani, MP for the riding of Carleton, who was sworn in as MPP for the new riding on June 7th, 2019. She was the first woman elected to the House of Commons from the riding and the first female MP to serve as an MP for a major party in the province.
Transcript
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Thank you. I will recognize the member from Carleton.
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I have the confidence that you will be fair in your judgments
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and in your representation of this sacred institution.
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I also wanted to acknowledge this territory as a traditional
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gathering place for many people, including the Mississauga
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of the Crédit. I look forward to continuing the historic relationship between First Nations and
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the Crown. On June 7th, the people and families of Carleton chose change. People like Earl Stanley
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from Metcalfe, who celebrated the 25-year anniversary of Stanley's Old Maple Lane Farm,
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a family-run hospitality venue in Metcalfe. People like the former mayor and then city
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Councillor of Rideau-Golburn, Glenn Brooks, his lovely wife Gail Brooks and their entire
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family. People like Stephen and Brenda Lewis and all their friends and family out in Ashton.
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Elizabeth McNee, Greg Thurlow, Phil McNee from Osgoode who had never been politically involved
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before. Peter and Karen Gartenberg in Manitick, Rich and Joanne Wilson in Manitick, Norm and Sue
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Hotchkiss in York's Corners, Dave Eggett and Karen Newell in Greeley, Roger and Penny Graves,
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Dave Lee, his family and all his friends and neighbours in Stittsville, including those who
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had never voted Progressive Conservative before, Joyce Wood, who told me that in her youth she was
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involved with the young Liberals and would never get involved politically, and Ted Wood out in
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Burrits Rapids. Kirsten Jensen, a young mother and first-time voter in Richmond.
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Mr. Speaker, local business owners like Cameron Kalos, who owns a local coffee shop in Richmond,
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and Mike from Mike's Garden Harvest in Manitik chose change. Local and well-known Carleton farm
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families from Kenmore and Vernon all the way to North Gore, many of whom have been in the farm
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for generations, including the Scoutons, the Acres, the Fosters, the Samples, the Nixons,
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the McCormicks, the Blacks, and countless more. They all chose change. I met hundreds of first-time
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and young voters at the doors, including Elena Heider, Jeremy Liedtke, John Buchan, Rory Tyler,
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and Shayla Hotchkiss. Countless doctors, professionals, business owners, people who had
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never been politically involved or who had never voted PC before. There are too many
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to name, Mr. Speaker, but all of them decided to help me on my journey to represent the
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people of Carleton, to voice their concerns, to resolve their problems and to bring positive
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change not just to Carleton but across Ontario. On June 7, Mr. Speaker, over 50% of Carleton's
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voters chose to put their trust and faith in me. I will be forever grateful to them and words will
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never express the depth of my gratitude. To those who did not vote for me, Mr. Speaker,
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I want to make it very clear that when I say I'm here to represent everyone, I truly
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mean it. Carleton is a brand-new riding, comprised of Nepean Carleton, Carleton Mississippi Mills,
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and Ottawa South. I wish to recognize the previous work done for the riding of Carleton
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by MPP Jack McLaren, Minister Lisa McLeod, MPP John Frazier and former MPP Norm Sterling.
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I look forward to continuing to work with the Minister and with MPP John Frazier as
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well as Minister Fullerton, all of the Ottawa region MPPs and my federal counterpart, the
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Hon. Pierre Polyeb and local municipal politicians.
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The riding of Carleton is home to 102,915 people.
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It covers the entire southern and rural portion of Ottawa's municipal boundaries, as well
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as three rapidly growing suburban communities, Stittsville, Riverside South and Findlay Creek.
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Carleton is a wonderful mix of rural and urban, old and new.
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In fact, a month ago, the Richmond Village Association celebrated the 200th anniversary
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of the town of Richmond, a beautiful area that predates Confederation itself.
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Agriculture is not just an extremely important sector of the economy, but it is also a way
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of life. In fact, some of Carleton's families go back generations to the first settlers
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on the land. Carleton's farmers play an important role in Ottawa. John and Sandra Vandenberg
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of Rideau Pines Farm in North Gore supply produce to top-tier Ottawa restaurants like
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Becta and Play. Tom and Marlene Black on Fallowfield Road have donated part of
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their farmland to the Ottawa Food Bank in support of their community harvest
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program and in 2016 the Black family farm donated over 90,000 pounds of fresh
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produce alone to the food bank. The Richmond and Metcalfe fairs both predate
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Confederation and every year farmers from across the region gather to
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participate in the Ottawa Carleton Plowman's Association plowing match.
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Carleton's community and business associations are numerous, vibrant and
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diverse. We have countless community parades, festivals, art shows, sporting
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competitions, Canada Day celebrations, Christmas events and more. It has been
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truly a pleasure getting to know the people of Carleton. The friendships that
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I have made and the lessons that I have learned will last a lifetime and the
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most important lesson I have learned is to listen with both ears. Mr. Speaker, it is truly a
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privilege for me to rise in this House today to address you and my fellow members as the
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democratically elected representative for the new riding of Carleton. And I do not use the phrase
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democratically elected lightly. You see, Mr. Speaker, I was born in Iran in 1985, shortly after
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the Iranian Revolution that overthrew the Shah and replaced him with a
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theocracy ruled by strict Islamic ideology, a theocracy overrun with
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corruption and greed, a theocracy that throws people in jail for criticizing
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the government, hangs homosexuals, stones women, and allows its citizens to suffer
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and live in poverty while pocketing billions of dollars in oil money. My
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father, having lived in Texas for almost a decade in the 70s, returned to Iran
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after the revolution had taken place to settle down and start a family. When I
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was born, he looked at the infant girl in his arms and realized he could not
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raise a daughter in that environment. And so, Mr. Speaker, my parents gave up
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everything they owned, said goodbye to their families, and on May 24, 1986, we
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landed at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport in Montreal. My parents had two suitcases,
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$50 in their pocket and a one-year-old baby girl, me. They had no friends, no
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family, no contacts. My father tells me that our first night in Canada he rented
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an unfurnished apartment. My parents slept on newspapers that night and I
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slept bundled up in my father's jacket. My parents gave up everything they had so
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that they could raise their family in a free and democratic country, a country
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like Canada. They came here with nothing and they expected nothing. My parents taught me to work hard,
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to play by the rules, to be thankful for our freedoms and most importantly Mr. Speaker,
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to respect and to give back to the people and communities that built Canada and made it the
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best country in the world. If someone had told my parents that not only would I be the first person
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in the family to become a lawyer but also the first person to uh or sorry but also that 32 years
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later i would have the opportunity and privilege to serve the people of ontario right here in the
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house as the first ever iranian immigrant woman to become a canadian politician i don't think
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And Mr. Speaker, the fact that the Progressive Conservative Party of
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Ontario is the first party to welcome someone like me into its
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fold speaks volumes about our party's commitment
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and dedication to equality and equal opportunity for everyone.
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This government is truly a government for the people.
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The throne speech was a clear indication of that fact, and I echo Mr. Downey's comments in that regard.
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I am excited and hopeful for what this government can and will do in the next four years for the people.
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I hope that my story and my journey inspires others to give back and serve their communities in any way possible.
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I am incredibly grateful to the people of Carleton for placing their confidence in me,
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And I promise to do everything in my power to ensure that their voices, concerns, and needs are heard in this House.