‘Welcome home’

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This article was published 28/11/2019 (2335 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Seventy-four new Canadians were officially welcomed ‘home’ in the heart of Elmwood last week.

On Nov. 27, 74 people from 17 countries took part in a citizenship ceremony hosted by the Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute.

“Today is a day you will never forget,” Willie Reimer, a former MBCI teacher who was a special guest, told the new citizens and their supporters who filled Jubilee Place for the ceremony. Reimer’s own family immigrated to Canada from Paraguay when he was a child. 

Justice Suzanne Carrière, who presided over the ceremony, spoke to the crowd about the rights and responsibilities that come with Canadian citizenship, as well as the importance of reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous peoples.

“I feel grateful every day to be Canadian,” she said. “It feels like winning the lottery.”

“We are so happy,” said Reynaldo de Guzman, who was among the 72 new Canadians who took the oath of citizenship along with his wife and their two children. “It is a great privilege.”

Six years ago de Guzman’s wife Maria came to Canada from the Philippines with children Ray and Marianne. De Guzman worked in Papua New Guinea before joining the family, who recently moved to a home in the Aurora North neighbourhood.

“It is a great feeling,” Maria said.

The ceremony at MBCI was organized by Catherine Schroeder, a Grade 9 teacher at the school, as a means of giving her students a first-hand lesson in citizenship.

“One thing we encourage as a school is for our teachers to make learning real wherever possible, and for a real purpose,” said Andrea Neufeld, principal at MBCI. “We want our students to learn and serve something outside of themselves, when possible. Today, you saw social studies come alive.”

After the 74 new citizens recited the Oath of Citizenship and received their citizenship papers, Grade 8 and 9 band students performed O Canada. Following the ceremony, a reception was held, which was catered by the school’s Grade 9 culinary class.

“It was a huge morning for us,” Neufeld added. “I’m honoured to be the principal of teachers who have this kind of vision.”

For Neufeld and many of the Grade 9 students in attendance, the event marked their first citizenship ceremony as well.

“To be a Canadian and to not have had that experience, it was quite special to be a  part of,” Neufeld said.

“It was such a beautiful thing to see and be a part of,” said Dakotah Ataman, a Grade 9 student. “You really appreciate the hard work people have to do to get into Canada, and the hardships many people face.”

“I feel like everybody should witness a Canadian citizenship ceremony,” Janessa Degenhardt, another Grade 9 student, said. “It’s awesome.”

“I’d like to welcome all the new citizens and thank them for letting us be a part of their journey,” Ataman added.

Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist

Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112

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