Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking the constituents in my riding of Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill for allowing me the opportunity to be their voice in this historic place. I am truly humbled by the honour they have bestowed on me to represent them and our community in the home of democracy for Canada and all Canadians. I know that the chair I sit in belongs to them.

This is an honour and a privilege that I cherish, and I pledge to work tirelessly on their behalf to prove worthy of the trust they have placed in me. From the bottom of my heart, I thank my hard-working campaign team and the hundreds of volunteers who devoted so much of their precious time to help me spread a message of hope in these trying times.

It was in the third week of May in 1956 when my mother Panagiota, a young woman in her mid-twenties, boarded the Queen Frederica for a transatlantic trip to Canada from her native country of Greece. Born in the 1930s in the midst of the Great Depression in a small village in the Spartan region of southern Greece to a poor family, opportunities were virtually non-existent. The inevitable hardship that followed as the country was embroiled in the Second World War was only compounded by the civil war that ensued in 1948.

Like so many of her generation, my mother was deprived of an education. By the 1950s, it became evident to her that she did not have a future in her poor village in her own country. It was then that a friend told her about a country called Canada. At the time, the Government of Canada had an immigration stream for domestics. Today, we call it the live-in caregiver program. She applied and was one of 75 young women who courageously boarded the ship for Canada to work as a maid in a home. The Queen Frederica embarked on a 15-day journey, landing at Pier 21 in Halifax on June 6.

My mom walked off the ship with no money, carrying a small suitcase containing just a few clothing items and not knowing a word of the English or French language. In truth, though, she carried a lot more than that. She brought with her the dream that in this new country she had chosen, she would be welcomed, she would succeed with hard work and her dreams would be fulfilled. She dreamed that she would meet someone, get married, have children and grow a family in a country that promised every opportunity to educate her children, contribute to society and prosper.

My father John also chose Canada as his home and landed at the same pier with the same dream one year later. They met in Montreal, and the following year they were married.

Born in Montreal, my brothers and I grew up in a loving home guided by our Christian faith and the values taught to us by our parents. It was in those early formative years that I learned the importance of civic engagement and realized that in addition to my personal career path, I wanted to be of public service. For the past 35 years, I have volunteered in my community, and this ultimately led me to seeking elected office. My election to Canada's Parliament in 2011 and again in 2025 would not have been possible if my parents had not instilled in me a deep love for our great country. Canada is, indeed, a country where everything is possible, even for two poor people who came here, like so many others have, seeking a better life. For my family, my election was in part a fulfillment of a Canadian dream.

After 10 years of the tired Liberal government, Canada's promise that with hard work anyone from anywhere can achieve anything has been broken. Taxes are higher, interest rates are up, grocery prices have skyrocketed, home prices are up and Canadians have been left helpless, as the Liberal government has lost its way.

Unfortunately, the Speech from the Throne did very little to give people hope and inspire optimism for better days ahead. While there are some measures outlined that can be seen as steps in the right direction—

Costas Menegakis

Transcript

Speech from the Throne

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