He observed that even the strongest occupying forces could only temporarily take our sovereignty and freedom! “If anyone on earth is really aware of what freedom means, then Hungarians are really the ones.” said the politician.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade reminded that: “In 1956 the Hungarian people received considerable encouragement from abroad, but only encouragement, the help they were hoping for did not come, for various reasons. The Hungarians, like many other times in history, were left alone. He added:

Not only help did not come, but the Soviet tanks came instead and ruined the streets of Budapest and other towns in the country. The Soviet army arrived as well, and due to that, thousands of our fellow countrymen died in the fights.

Péter Szijjártó also spoke about that many Hungarian were forced to find a new home in Montreal and while they remained true Hungarian patriots, they also integrated well into the new society and contributed to success of Canada. He also stressed that “at this point, we have to reject the attempt of falsification of history of these days, which criticizes Hungarians for the standpoint we have in relation to modern migration, when Hungarians were welcome in 1956 when they needed refuge. We strongly object this because the people who were forced to leave Hungary in 1956 were patiently waiting in the neighbouring Austria to be accepted to another country, they respect the rules and laws of their new homeland and they were not building a parallel society but they contributed to the success of their new homeland.

The minister concluded: Hungary is proud of the nearly 38 thousand Hungarians who contributed to Canada becoming a great country today. He also accentuated Hungary's gratitude for welcoming Hungarian refugees in 1956.