Speech of Jay Chauhan at the CEJWC Award Ceremony on 25 June 2004

I am not going to read my speech because what I have to say in my written speech has been said by Honourable Minister of Multiculturalism, Jean Augustine, and the President of Canadian Ethnic Journalists and Writers Club, Mr. Ben Vicari. I will speak from my heart.

I am grateful for awarding this honour to me for internet writing in the field of Window on Canada and articles written on legal issues.  I want to tell you briefly how I ended up in this profession of Journalism. This is my fourth profession.

I first qualified as an Economist with my first degree from the London School of Economics and then got my Masters Degree from the University of Berlin in Germany. My marriage Certificate showed me as an Economist.

I was called to the Bar in England and when I came to Canada, like many others, my qualifications as a lawyer were not recognized. I went back to school at York University and got my LL.B. from Canada. I have been practicing in Ontario as a lawyer since 1972.

I also work as a Deputy Judge in Richmond Hill. With these full time occupations, I do not have much time for writing, so I write my articles in my pyjamas on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

The reason for my going into journalism is that as a lawyer I found that you deal with problems of one person at a time. As a journalist you can address issues of a whole group. So I have turned to journalism in the last about 10 years. I write articles on legal issues so that the public and newcomers can understand the law and walk the streets of Toronto, Winnipeg andVancouver with confidence and make their best contribution to the canadian society.

I am very grateful for this award this evening. I am proud to get it in Canada because we have a unique opportunity in Canada to share our views in a multicultural society. Ethnic groups are about 40% of the population and they are as a group bigger than the Anglophone group of about 30% and Francophone group which is about another 30 %. We are able to share our views and enjoy the cultures of each other in one country. We do it in peace and harmony. We are a role model for the world.

Thank you for the award.

Jay Chauhan