Dinner with the Malaysian Community in Edmonton

Notes from an address by 

The Hon. David Kilgour, P.C., M.P.

Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) & M.P. (Edmonton-Southeast)

Edmonton, AB  

17 October 2003  

Check against delivery

Canada’s relations with Malaysia are strong and growing.  This was made evident to me last year when I visited Kuala Lumpur.  The success of our bi-lateral relations is due in large measure because of people like all of you, who provide a vibrant and dynamic community presence here in Canada. 

Dennis Ignatius, Malaysia’s very able High Commissioner to Canada, and I have become good friends and we’ll often find ourselves discussing how our countries have built multicultural societies where people of all backgrounds and faiths live together in peace. 

In Canada, we can be proud to have achieved multiculturalism: we are a nation of nations - home to virtually every people on earth. We fulfill the definition of pluralism: we have numerous distinct ethnic, religious and cultural groups. Canadians generally believe such a condition is desirable and socially beneficial. This, however, will only take us so far. Already - it's proving not to be enough. To make our experiment of multiculturalism succeed, we must redefine it so that our primary descriptor is not 'tolerance' but understanding and harmony.

This understanding will happen in part through interfaith dialogues. The objective of genuine dialogue is not necessarily to find agreement, but more importantly mutual respect. Before Canadians can proclaim ourselves ready to bridge gaps with our friends in Malaysia or anywhere in Asia-Pacific, we must also come to know the many faith communities within our own borders. Reading the Bible and then purporting to understand the contributions of Christians to this country, to understand our sometimes adversarial relationships with each other, our often different views on world events, and to know what we dream for our children - would be absurd! The teachings of a faith must be learned in tandem with an appreciation for the way these teachings are lived. We have nothing to fear: building a stronger understanding of others faiths doesn't mean sacrificing our own. Rather, it's an opportunity to reaffirm them.