In 1979, a teenaged Elie Mikhael Nasrallah left his parents' house and walked across the public square to the bus stop, beginning the long journey to Canada. He was not the first of his village - nor even his family - to take this step, nor would be the last. Civil war had gripped his homeland of Lebanon, offering its youth a bleak future.

Every immigrant has a story, and as a certified immigration consultant for more than twenty years, representing clients from around the world, Nasrallah had heard more than most. Listening with a sympathetic ear, he has helped many navigate the gates and walls that stand between here and there. These are the voices and insights into what has made, in Nasrallah's eyes, Canada the greatest country in the world.

"Elie Mikhael Nasrallah has written an important book that is at the very core of Canadian history. Every single one of us - First Nations proudly excepted - has an immigrant story in our immediate or distant past. Gates and Walls: Stories of Migration in Modern Times talks to those who came here to escape war and persecution, who came to these shores for opportunity, and who will continue to come for, among a legion of other reasons, to flee the ravages of the world's economic crisis. We have long seen their faces - now hear their voices." - Roy MacGregor, author, columnist, and feature writer for The Globe and Mail