Thank you, Madam Chair, vice-chairs and honourable members of the committee, for having me here. Happy National Indigenous Peoples Day.

I've been looking forward to my presentation in front of the committee for many reasons. You all are doing amazing jobs from your places to appreciate diversity and strengthen our country by living up to the values of compassion and empowerment for newcomers every day. My family and I came to Canada a few years ago after losing everything to the war in Syria. We have been in love with this country that restored our faith in humanity and our hope that what we lost can be rebuilt with the fortitude of the power and resiliency that's in each and every one of us.

Newcomers bring great skills and experiences with them. They are here to contribute and give back to their communities that they now call home. With other countries closing their doors and their borders, Canada is leading the world in attracting newcomers, and it's no surprise that Canada has been ranked the best country in the world this year.

Nova Scotia, for example, is a big part of that. It has done so much to help newcomers. In my area alone, I have met people from 35 countries who have started businesses here. On the other hand, we all know that immigrants are motivated to translate their skills and experiences into an opportunity for a life here. Entrepreneurship is only one way that immigrants give back to their new home, each by their unique remarkable and amazing values and culture they bring. They celebrate the true meaning of being Canadians.

As a newcomer family ourselves, we are bringing our values and our message. It's not just about business. By starting in our own town of Antigonish, which is home to 4,300 residents, we wanted to take advantage of the international stage to share this message.

Just a few years ago, we started a journey in Antigonish with Peace by Chocolate. There is something unique and special about small towns in Nova Scotia, like all the beautiful provinces in this country. We have believed since the beginning that our success story is not alone: There are thousands of Canadian success stories that should be shared around the world.

In Nova Scotia, people travel for job opportunities, going out west and to other places. We started Peace by Chocolate in 2016, a few months after arriving in Canada, because we believed that we came to Canada not to take jobs—we came to Canada to create them. We are now hiring tens of people—tens of people, Madam Chair—in distribution, development, production and many other departments and specialties.

We are so honoured at the same time to launch our Peace on Earth Society, where we donate proceeds to the Canadian Mental Health Association, indigenous communities and many other organizations whose work is very well rooted in our society. The people of Antigonish have done an amazing job and have been a great support to us.

The examples of rural municipalities doing amazing work to support newcomers are countless. For example, we did not know how to apply to governments or start our business or network with neighbouring provinces, but everyone helped us to succeed much faster.

While I'm really honoured to share our successful and amazing journey with you, it's so important to mention that no one is born to emigrate. We are all born to live in our homeland, but after losing everything to the war in Syria, our family had refugee status for a few years and realized that Canada is the land of freedom, human rights and opportunity. In her communities, immigrants find opportunities for a better life, no matter how big or small the place they live in, and they can help build our communities together.

The most noble values for each newcomer I meet are peace and kindness. We suffered violence, persecution and devastating circumstances until we reached this country. It was not an easy journey. We lost everything, but we are here because we need peace, and peace is the main foundation for life for everybody. Without that, we have no work, we have no business, we have no school and we have no family.

In the end, Canadian communities continue to bring hope to hundreds of thousands of immigrants who come here looking to rebuild their lives with passion, peace, determination and persistence, and they give back immensely to make Canada the great country that it is today and every day.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you.

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