Ottawa citizenship ceremony commemorates Black History Month

A special Citizenship ceremony to mark the final days of Black History Month welcomed Canada’s newest citizens on Wednesday.

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19 of the newly minted Canadians were sworn in by Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller. The ceremony was presided by Citizenship Judge Rochelle Ivri.

"So excited. I've been waiting for this forever. It's finally here," said Scholastica Ijh, one of the proud new Canadians.

Ijh came to Canada in 2019 from Nigeria with her six children.

"It was a long, long journey. But it was worth it because, at the end of the day, nothing good comes easy," she said.

For her, it’s new rights, responsibilities and everything that comes with being Canadian.

"Freedom and opportunity. You know where I come from, there are opportunities. But you can never compare it to a country like this. This is one of the greatest countries in the world," she said.

Citizenship will provide new opportunities for her children as well.

"Yeah, really exciting," said one of her children.

Ivri told CTV News she was honoured to celebrate the occasion with the new Canadians.

"I'm so happy to be able to celebrate Black History Month in such a meaningful way," Ivri said.

"It just really warms my heart."