October 25, 2005
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Paul Martin today issued the following statement on the passing of civil rights icon Rosa Parks:

“Today I join all Canadians in mourning the passing of one of the most influential figures in the modern civil rights movement. Rosa Parks was an icon, not just for minority communities in the American south, or for women, but for all of humanity the world over. From her refusal to be treated with indignity on a 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, bus was born a movement and from this movement, a greater appreciation and acceptance of the sacred principles of liberty and equality.

“Though Ms. Parks spoke in the quietest of tones, her voice will continue to ring loud as a symbol of courage, of the strength of the human spirit and of the need to continue the fight against inhumanity in all of its manifestations.”