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Speech by His Highness the Aga Khan at Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada

February 28, 2014

Thank you Prime Minister for those most generous and gracious words.

Thank you also for the unique honour in asking me to address your Parliament yesterday. It was a moving day for me because I was talking to one of the most important partners that we have in any part of the world. (applause)

When you do the work that I do in so many different countries, you look at who are your partners. And the fact that all around the world, wherever we work, every time we show the Canadian flag there is applause, gratitude and happiness. (applause)

It is a particularly happy day for me that we are extending this partnership, strengthening it, giving it new opportunities in areas of development needs that are essential, young children, isolated peoples, post-conflict situations. So we have a partner, a wonderful partner, who works with us - not in the easy, comfortable parts of the world - but who works with us where there are challenges, where there are difficulties, where people fight, where people seek to develop just a simple life of survival.

And that is a unique partnership because it is a partnership for people. It is a partnership for people in difficulty. It is a partnership where imagination is essential if you want to build strong programs.

I want to say also that in the next months Toronto will come up on our radar screen of great cities around the world (applause). Today I have in front of me the best of civil society. And I want you to know how happy and proud I am that in a few months time, we will open a new Ismaili Centre here in Toronto and a new Museum (applause).

What is important to me however, is not only what those two buildings represent for Toronto, but funnily enough it is the park around those buildings. I am not a particularly vigorous green, but I do believe that parks have an enormous importance.

We have built parks in post-conflict situations. We have rehabilitated the Bagh-e-Babur in Kabul. We have worked in Bamako, in Delhi, in Cairo, in Khorog in eastern Tajikistan. And what have we learnt from that experience? We have learnt that civil society is built around the cement of different peoples who have come together in places of peace and joy. And I hope today that all the people of Toronto will feel that the park that will be around these buildings - is their park.

As time goes by, our partnership will grow. And I want to thank the Prime Minister and his Government. I want to thank all Canadians for the wonderful partnership that they have given us which is built not on opportunistic situations, no. It is built on a deep sharing of values.

Thank you Canada
(applause)

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