Ten years ago, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees made an urgent appeal to countries to grant safe haven to the thousands of people who had fled repression in Kosovo and who lived a precarious existence in overcrowded refugee camps in Macedonia and Albania.
Canadians responded, as they have many times in our history, by putting their hearts into an effort that, in a few short weeks, airlifted more than 5,000 Kosovars to safety in Canada.
There were many contributors to this task, including several government departments. I particularly want to mention the Department of National Defence, which opened up military bases to provide temporary shelter for the evacuees. In the private sector, the Canadian Red Cross played a lead role, welcoming the newcomers at the bases and coordinating the contributions of other non-governmental organizations in Canada. Service-provider organizations, private refugee sponsors and the community groups that sprang up to support the resettlement of the Kosovars must also be remembered and thanked again for their part. Canadians showed their humanity once again when someone in the world needed help.
As Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, I look back with pride at the professionalism and dedication of the Immigration personnel who participated, whether they were battling serious logistical problems abroad, logging long hours in the reception centres in Canada, or working hard to keep normal activities on track in the absence of their colleagues who were directly involved in Operation Parasol.
We admire the courage of the Kosovars who elected to return home to the daunting task of rebuilding their lives and their homeland. We are grateful for the ones who remained to strive for a new life in Canada and who have enriched the multicultural fabric of this nation.
