And opportunity he found.

Now a resident of Welland, Egbuna has found a career and his two sons are excelling in school.

"I felt it would be a good place to raise my family," Egbuna told The Post. "I appreciate the value system. We live in a multicultural community. In the last five years people have come from different parts of the world."

On Friday, Egbuna officially received his citizenship during a citizenship ceremony at St. Paul's Anglican Church, officiated by Judge Robert Morrow of Hamilton.

"Having a Canadian passport is a good thing in all parts of the world," said Morrow, to about 50 new Canadians before leading them through an oath of citizenship. "We're here to celebrate what you went through to get here."

Hosted by the Fort Erie Multicultural Centre, the citizenship ceremony was part of Canadian Multicultural Day celebrations at St. Paul's Anglican Church.

The day began at 9:30 a.m. with a multi-faith reflection and worship service which was followed by a taste of culture community lunch and the citizenship ceremony in the afternoon.

Pat Anzovino, a founding member of the Fort Erie Multicultural Centre, said although there are parts of Canadian history we aren't proud of, such as the abuse and cultural assimilation suffered by the First Nations, Inuit and Metis people at the hands of Canadian government and many Christian churches in residential schools, multiculturalism as a policy must be bound to anti-racism as a practice.

"Today, we celebrate and welcome new Canadians," said Anzovino. "Our border community of Fort Erie has a long history of welcoming people. It has for centuries been a symbolic bridge to peace and freedom for many. During the month of February, we celebrated Black History and the role we played as part of the Underground Railroad that helped blacks escape from slavery."

There are two hostels in town: Casa El Norte and Matthew House. The Multicultural Centre opened its doors in 1985 to help with language training, legal matters and settlement services.

"Those who have chosen Fort Erie as their new home and community have enriched the lives of all of us and made our community a better place in which to live. For those of us whose lives have been touched by refugees in our community, the experience has been life changing," said Anzovino.

The first ceremony was not only held as part of Canadian Multicultural Day, but also in co-ordination with the Friendship Festival. Fort Erie Multicultural Centre executive director Martha Mason said it likely won't be the last.