Liebe Landsleute,
sehr geehrter Herr Minister Walter Hirche,
sehr geehrter Herr Abgeordneter Dr. Rainer Wend
sehr geehrter Herr Richard Kohler,
sehr geehrte Frau Gloria Lindsay-Luby,
sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
liebe Freunde,

im Namen der Bundesregierung möchte ich Sie alle sehr herzlich begrüßen. Wir feiern heute unseren Nationalfeiertag, den Tag der Deutschen Einheit. Darüber sind wir alle sehr glücklich!

Excellencies,
distinguished guests,
honorable Minister Walter Hirche from Niedersachsen,
honorable Member of German Parliament Dr. Rainer Wend,
honorable Mister Richard Kohler, Assistant Deputy Minister, International Relations, and Chief of Protocol,
honorable Mrs. Gloria Lindsay-Luby, speaker for City Council,
dear collegues and friends,

on behalf of the German government I would like to welcome you to our reception on the occasion of the Day of German Unity. I am pleased and honoured to be able to welcome so many of you here. Thank you all for coming and for sharing with us the joy that we feel today.

A very special thanks goes to our Canadian friends here tonight.

Thank you for honoring our reception with your presence. We all appreciate your being here.

I feel very proud to be able to welcome among us Mr. Richard Kohler, Assistant Deputy Minister International Relations and Chief of Protocol.

Mr. Kohler took over his new function just yesterday. So, if you think that I am new on the job, Mr. Kohler can definitely top that.

Mr. Kohler is looking back on a long and distinguished career as a Canadian diplomat. He was twice posted in Europe and Australia and in 1998 was appointed Canadian Ambassador to Brazil. Prior to his new function he was Chef of Protocol of Canada.

Mr. Kohler, I take the fact that one of your first public appearances – if not the first public appearance - in your new role leads you to the Consular Corps in Toronto and to the German Consulate in particular, as a very good and reassuring sign. Our best wishes for the future acccompany you. We will be working very closely together and I am looking forward.

I understand that you will be pronouncing a personal greeting by Prime Minister McGuinty, who was not able to assist tonight–we all know the reasons. Mr. Kohler, you have the word.

Mayor David Miller also sent his personal greetings. I am pleased to introduce to you Ms. Gloria Lindsay-Luby, speaker for City Council, who will pronounce the mayor's greetings.

Thank you, Ms. Lindsay-Luby.

I would also like to express my deepest and most heartfelt thanks to Mister Walter Hirche for his presence here tonight.

Mister Walter Hirche is the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economics, Labour and Transportation of Niedersachsen. Or, as our Canadian friends would say: of Lower-Saxony.

Lower-Saxony is the second largest province or Land within the Federal Republic of Germany. It is home to one of our best known car producing firms. Industry, agriculture and tourism thrive as well. Mister Hirche and his team have prepared some impressions of the many attractions of Lower Saxony. See the posters and brochures that are on display tonight. The capital of Lower-Saxony, Hannover, is known world wide. It had a glorious past: Hannover –if you recall your history classes back at school- is the town where all those Georges of England came from. And at the same time, Hannover is fit for the future: Hannover hosted the first World Exhibition in the new millennium, the EXPO 2000.

On a political level, Lower-Saxony is a very important German Land as well. Looking back a few years, we had a Federal Chancellor who came from that part of Germany. Or to break it down to a prominent political figure that is still in office: the current German Minister of Foreign Affairs started his political career in Niedersachsen. Though these two personalities, dear Minister Walter Hirche, come from a different political spectrum than you do, excellency in political skills is definitely not limited to one party alone. And talking about political skills, I am sure you will find the overall atmosphere that prevails here in Ontario attractive. Everyone here knows that Ontario is such a liberal region!

Minister Walter Hirche is accompanied by a high ranking delegation. Let me also express my welcome greetings to every member of this delegation. Thank you all for coming to one of the most dynamic cities in the world! Welcome to Toronto! I am sure you will enjoy it!

Minister Walter Hirche is a kind sponsor of our reception. And a major one! Thank you for your generous financial contribution. Without the additional good things like the beer, without the bretzels and without the ham and sausage appetizers that you brought along with you, this reception would lack something: the very special touch that only Niedersachsen could lend to this occasion. Your sponsorship is more than welcome.

Please accept the fact that we most willingly hoisted the flag of Niedersachsen together with the German and Canadian flags as a sign of our appreciation.

Please pass on our sincere "Dankeschön" to your staff members that prepared your visit to Toronto and your generous contribution to this event so well.

The same goes for my colleagues at the Consulate. I thank them all for their personal contributions to this evening that went far beyond the call of duty.

I am pleased and honoured to now give the floor to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economics Walter Hirche.

Thank you very much, Minister Hirche.

We are celebrating today the Day of German Unity. What a joyful event! After years of separation all Germans can again live in one country. I would like to repeat my very special thanks that I have already expressed this morning when we have witnessed a German flag raising ceremony in front of the Parliament of Ontario together with our Canadian friends. And on behalf of the German government and of all my fellow citizens I have thanked them for having supported Germany in its quest for unity. Let me repeat again: Thank you, Canada, for being one of the prominent nations to offer us the wind beneath our wings; the wind that was necessary so that we could fly!

I am particularly happy that we can celebrate the Day of German Unity in our new premises. As you have noticed, the space is not yet furnished or even properly lined, but I am very excited to be able to welcome you all to the German Consulate General of the future! This is a very unique opportunity. Construction work will start after this event, all the walls, doors and carpets will soon be put in place. So the window of opportunity to invite you all at the same time to the new Consulate General was only open this year. And I have gladly seized this opportunity.

And to you I say: Take advantage of that as well! Remember the place and the address when you come to see us in the future. You will then be able to admire what architects, hard-hat workers and interior designers will have achieved. The new premises will cater even more to the needs of our work.

But until next year, let´s enjoy the premises as they are now, reflecting the spirit of moving, of a new beginning, and of new challenges that lie ahead of us. I would like to thank Guardian Overseas Shipping Limited for their substantial financial contribution as well as tonight’s décor.

I invite you all to leave your names and comments on the walls. Let us create an out-of-the-ordinary guestbook! When in your lifetime will you ever again have the opportunity to write or even smear your name on the walls of a German Consulate? And your comments! So please let us know what you think!

2007 was a successful year for Germany. Holding the presidencies of the European Union and in the G 8-Group at the same time was a tremendous challenge.

Germany succeeded in advancing key European matters.

The same is true for our work in the G 8 group. There, we tackled projects that are also dear to our Canadian friends, such as protection of the environment as well as promoting energy saving. Thank you, Canada, for your valuable cooperation during our presidency.

Economy in Germany is on the rise, this is good news for all of us! In an overall perspective we record a small but significant budget surplus for the first time since the fall of the Iron Curtain. And we currently record a growth rate of almost 3 percent. At that moment, this is the highest growth rate among all G-8 countries.

I was in Germany only a few weeks ago and I sensed that a more optimistic atmosphere prevailed, a new spirit could be felt. This too is good news for all of us.

On that happy note I am proud to announce that tonight we will be able to welcome three new members to our German Community in Ontario. Fear not: I am not talking about changing these premises into a delivery room.

But on the contrary, I will be delivering or handing over documents to three very grown up individuals. They will become German citizens tonight. They will be naturalized.

May I therefore ask

• Mister Kurt Servos,

• Mister David Servos,

• Mister Andrew Lewy,

to step forward.

By handing out these documents to you I am proud and pleased to declare you German citizens! Congratulations!

What would an evening like tonight be without awards and recognition of outstanding performances?

Yes, we do have outstanding performers among us tonight: I am proud to distinguish three outstanding German language students who excelled in their studies.

Each year thousands of motivated young people start learning German abroad. After at least five years of consecutive language instruction, these students can gain a special certificate. With this special certificate these students are in a position to register at any German university.

The three students invited tonight were chosen because they were the best in their respective schools.

May I therefore ask

• Hermonie Xie from the German Language School "Metro Toronto" in Scarborough

• Elisa Cristea from the German Language School "Concordia" in Kitchener and

• Sina Schweter from the Metro Toronto Richmond Hill German Language School

to step forward and receive their respective diploma. Congratulations to you!

Tonight marks another first: The German and Canadian national anthems will be performed by a young Canadian immigrant, Veronika Anissimova. I am proud to announce a rising new star. Veronika is only 13 years old. And she has already achieved so much: She joined the Canadian Children´s Opera Chorus in 2005 and has performed in various operas; even in leading roles in productions of the Music Drama Youth Theatre. Her voice is strong enough to perform the two anthems a capella. We are in for a treat. Please welcome with me Veronika Anissimova!

I thank you for your attention.