CBC’s Andy Barrie welcomes new Canadians at MaRS citizenship ceremony

Toronto, June 1, 2010 – What do CBC Radio celebrity Andy Barrie and 60 new Canadians have in common?

They are all heading to MaRS Discovery District tomorrow for a special citizenship ceremony and series of community roundtable discussions designed to strengthen the connections between new Canadians and their communities.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) and MaRS will welcome candidates for Canadian citizenship from 35 different countries to this special event, the third of its kind held at MaRS. The community roundtable discussions (an initiative of the ICC) bring new citizens and established Canadians together to share their views on what it means to be a Canadian citizen. Andy Barrie joins scientists, entrepreneurs and other professionals to lead these informal discussions, which gave participants a chance to reflect on the value of shared citizenship.

Following the discussions, a citizenship ceremony is held in the MaRS auditorium. Hosting the ceremony offers MaRS a chance to extend and strengthen its ties to the community and encourage new Canadians to engage with its mission to build the next generation of growth companies.

“New Canadians bring ideas, talents and enthusiasm to this country, strengthening our ability to compete on the global stage,” said Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, MaRS CEO. “By hosting these discussions and this ceremony at MaRS, our community has the opportunity to welcome new Canadian citizens and develop a deeper understanding of what it means to be Canadian in the 21st century.”

The ceremony is open to MaRS tenants and members of the MaRS community, many of whom have never experienced a citizenship ceremony before. It includes a performance by mezzo-soprano Jessica Lloyd, greetings from the federal government and a group photo of all new Canadians. The presiding officer is Citizenship Judge Raminder Gill.

 

About MaRS
MaRS Discovery District (www.marsdd.com) is a large scale, mission driven innovation centre located in Toronto and networked across Ontario, focused on building Canada’s next generation of technology companies. MaRS works closely with entrepreneurs to grow and scale their ventures into global market leaders in life sciences and health care, information, communications and digital media technologies, cleantech, advanced materials and engineering, as well as innovative social purpose business.

To learn more about the ICC’s commitment to citizenship, visit http://www.icc-icc.ca/en/