The High Commission of Canada held a press conference to mark the 150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation, where High Commissioner Perry Calderwood spoke about the country’s history.

He said Canada accepts 1pc of its population as immigrants annually, and there are approximately 300,000 Canadians of Pakistani origins. Mr Calderwood said this makes Canada a pluralistic society where their diversity is their strength.

Pointing out an inukshuk made of rock salt in the corner of the High Commission garden, he explained that the inuksuit are figures made of stones piled on top of each other constructed by the Inuit, the First Peoples, which served many practical functions, as hunting and navigational aids, coordination points and message centres in the freezing cold terrain where there were few natural landmarks.

Ending the conference with well wishes and hopes for the future in Urdu, the high commissioner impressed the audience with his fluency after barely three months of lessons.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2017