Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim

Your Worship Mayor John Tory,
Honourable Minister Carolyn Bennett,

Madame Adrienne Clarkson, and Mr John Ralston Saul,

Honourable Senators,
Members of Parliament,

Members of the Consular Corps,
Members of the Provincial Judiciary,

Members of the Provincial Parliament,
Mayors and City Councillors,
Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen and dare I say friends, dear friends.

It is a special privilege to be here with you, to accept, on behalf of my brother, His Highness the Aga Khan, the magnificent honours that you have bestowed upon him today. It is with great happiness that I receive, on his behalf, the Key to this wonderful City, and celebrate with you the ceremonial naming of the Aga Khan Boulevard. Mayor Tory, His Highness is deeply touched by your kindness and graciousness.

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of the presence of Ismaili Muslims in Canada. Our community, like so many others, has found in Canada a place to grow, to thrive, and to share actively with the other citizens in the development of this country. Fifty years ago, and in the decades that have followed, many members of our community, escaping crisis and instability, established themselves here in Toronto and across the country. Now, 50 years later, we have in front of us, Aga Khan Boulevard. What a remarkable story – one which I am sure will be a source of immense pride and happiness for so many members of the Ismaili community worldwide.

The community’s presence here would not have been possible were it not for Toronto and Canada’s profound commitment to embracing and celebrating diversity. For many years now, His Highness has looked to Canada as a model of pluralism – one that is ever more critical, more urgently needed, in our increasingly divisive and fragmented world.

It is this very commitment to understanding the other that has infused the initiatives surrounding us. This Ismaili Centre, the Aga Khan Museum next door, and the Aga Khan Park bridging the two, were conceived to be spaces of understanding and dialogue – to bring together people of different faiths, backgrounds and beliefs, in order to better know and to appreciate one another. Also of course, to provide them with shared experiences, discoveries and happy memories to illuminate their lives.

Today’s occasion is reflective of the progress that can be made when the right conditions exist, such as respect for human dignity, a commitment to the rule of law and democratic principles, and equality of opportunity for all.

I may say if I can diverge a bit to a personal souvenir, my first experience of how this diversity in Canada works, was in fact when Idi Amin Dada expelled the community from Uganda. I came over then with Dr Hengel and in one week in Canada we had put together a programme to finance the Jamat that was coming here, as well as a means of providing them with information as to how best to organise their commercial lives in the years ahead. In one week. It was absolutely exceptional.

I might also add another request if I may. Now that we have the Aga Khan Boulevard, I would be delighted if we could work with the City Council on how we want to beautify and develop the boulevard. Whether it be in planting, or in the public realm, but I would like it to become a symbol of what a public thoroughfare should look like, in terms of its utilization and what it brings to the population.

Improving quality of life, in the broadest sense, is core to the mandate of the Ismaili Imamat. This is why, during the course of this week, members of my family will participate in the ground-breaking of an affordable housing and long-term care complex here in Toronto; the inauguration of a beautiful new pavilion at the Aga Khan Garden at the University of Alberta in Edmonton; and the signing of an Agreement of Cooperation with the Government of British Columbia committing us to joint efforts to improve the quality of life in British Columbia, Canada, and around the world.

It is our deep hope that such initiatives, and others in the future, will reinforce our common values of compassion, equity and service; and enable us to share our experiences with others to build a more peaceful, caring and prosperous world.

Thank you, Mayor Tory, for the special honours you have conferred today, and thank you, Toronto, for being such a warm and welcoming place for all who seek to build a better future.

Thank you.