Remarks by: The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario 

The National Ethnic Press and Media Awards Ceremony Lieutenant Governor’s Suite, Queen’s Park, Toronto

Monday 26 October 2009

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Queen’s Park.

Millions of immigrants, who have made Canada their home over the past centuries, have relied on a helpful hand and voice from those who came here before them to assist them in becoming familiar in a strange new land. 

Since the mid-19th century, when the first Black presses were founded in Canada, that help has often been found in the media that serve our ethnic communities in their native languages.

Each generation of immigrants, from Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, Africa and Latin America, has contributed a part of their native culture to Canada. Together, they have helped to build a society that is the envy of nations around the world for its diversity, inclusivity and the ability of racial, ethnic and religious minorities to co-exist peacefully.

For such a society to be sustained, it is vital that its media reflect competing opinions and interests, so that citizens can make informed choices. The ethnic media are an important part of this process.

As the ethnic makeup of New Canadians has changed in recent decades, so too has the mix of ethnic media available to them. The European languages that dominated the field in the forties, fifties and sixties have been joined by media in Cantonese, Parsi, Somali, Punjabi, and others.

I am told that you have also kept pace with changing technology, today reaching your audiences through satellite and internet, as well as print. At the same time, you have been committed to maintaining journalistic excellence.

Tonight’s awards are a reflection of this commitment. I look forward to honouring several exceptional members of Canada’s ethnic media for your contribution to your communities, to journalism and to the arts.

In the name of The Queen, I commend the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada for your dedication to the ideals and freedoms of the society in which we live. And I congratulate this evening’s award winners for achieving the recognition of your peers.

Thank you.