The President was accompanied by Estonia’s Ambassador to Canada Margus Rava who assumed his position in Ottawa earlier this year.
More than thirty Estonian-Canadians were joined by several Estonian students studying at Dalhousie University in Halifax at the social gathering. President Karis had expressed a desire to meet with Estonian-Canadians during his attendance at the Security Conference.
The meeting was held at the National Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, where hundreds of Estonian refugees landed after years in Displaced Persons (DP) camps in Germany after the Second World War. Among them were refugees who had been interred in Sweden and landed in Halifax on a former minesweeper, the Walnut.
John Soosaar, Estonia’s Honorary Consul in Nova Scotia, welcomed the guests and President Karis expressed surprise at the large turnout. He urged them to stay true to Estonia and stressed the importance of maintaining the language.
Helmut Sandstrom, an oceanographer whose family has lived in Dartmouth for more than 50 years, presented the president with a book entitled Eestlased Kanadas, volume three, by Valdu Lillakas. The book deals with Estonians who settled in Canada after the war.
Mr. Soosaar presented the President with a book of pictures of Canada’s provinces and territories and Ambassador Rava with a personal account of the Soosaar family’s life in Canada after arriving in Nova Scotia in 1949 with a handcraft group of 37 men, women and children.
While in Halifax, the President did an interview with CTV regional anchor Todd Battis, which was sent to the CTV national news in Toronto.
President Karis and Ambassador Rava and their entourage left on Sunday afternoon for Ottawa. The annual three-day Security conference brought military, business and academic leaders from around the world to Halifax, including U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. Their discussions centred on the war in Ukraine and they were joined via a video link with officials from the Ukrainian government.
