‘Canada is the greatest place for families’

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This article was published 09/12/2018 (2798 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Serge Bazie and his wife, Julie, decided to leave Burkina Faso with their son to seek out a new life, they put one country ahead of any others — Canada.

Bazie and his wife, larger now with two daughters who have been born here since they arrived, became Canadian citizens on Sunday at a special citizenship ceremony at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to mark today’s 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Bazie family, who came here four years ago, were all smiles as they went to the front of the room to shake the hands of various special guests in attendance and then officially sign the citizenship documents. The children, nine-year-old Mathys, four-year-old Christine and two-year-old Meghan, all had Canadian flags they waved around.

“Canada was at the top of our list to come to,” Bazie said shortly after. “We knew Canada is the greatest place for families.”

The Bazie family were five of dozens of new Canadian citizens to receive their citizenship on Sunday.

It also marked the first time the new Canadians sang O Canada as their national anthem.

During the ceremony, 50 people from 19 countries said an oath and signed citizenship papers to become Canadian citizens.

A video message from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told them in both official languages: “Congratulations Canadians, and welcome home.”

The ceremony was presided by Suzanne Carriere, Canada’s first Métis citizenship judge, who told the group that becoming a citizen is like what Sen. Murray Sinclair said about reconciliation: “I want to be your friend and I want you to be mine.”

Carriere said her family came here 300 years ago and, even though she was born here, she said “every day of my life, I feel thankful.”

One man who received his citizenship was cheered as he stepped to the front of the room to receive his certificate — while wearing a Canada flag draped over his shoulders.

Angela Cassie, who represented the museum at the ceremony, said she was born in Canada but her parents immigrated, so they took her to their citizenship ceremony when she was a child.

“I don’t remember the ceremony,” Cassie admitted.

“But for the children here, look at your mom and dad and say, ‘Thank you.’ They have worked very hard to get here.”

Bazie and his family leave behind a landlocked country of 274,000 square kilometres and a population of about 20 million to one that is 9.98 million square kilometres — second-largest in the world — and a population of more than 35 million people.

Bazie, who has a job with the federal government, said the family left the African country, formerly known as the Republic of Upper Volta, not because they were being persecuted, but because he wanted a better life for his children.

“Being a father and having a family is not just saying you have three kids or you have one kid,” he said.

“You want to make tomorrow better for them. I wanted my family to live in a great country where they can realize their dreams.

“This is our opportunity.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca