Today, I had the honour to attend a flag raising ceremony in remembrance of Greece's Independence Day March 25th
These are the words I shared at the event:
Good day everyone, Mr. Consul General, Your Eminence, Fellow MPP’s, Honoured guests.
In 1821 March brought the beginning of spring to Greece and Greeks brought the beginning of a spring for Europe with their revolt against Ottoman rule.
After 400 years of darkness, of winter, Greeks could not be stopped, they would break winter, bring spring to their land or die trying. Today the people of Ukraine, like those Greeks, fight for their nation and their independence.
The Greek spring of 1821 set the pace for revolutions in Europe that would create modern western democratic societies that we know today.
Every March 25th I remember that every winter, no matter if it is 4 months long or 400 years long will be broken, by the sun or by the human spirit.
We owe a great debt to the ancient Greeks who pioneered democracy as a form of government and the modern Greeks who brought it back into our time.
Thank you all for being here today.
