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House Hansard - 100

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 22, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 100 - Sep/22/22
Mr. Ryan Turnbull (Whitby, Lib.)
  • Sep/22/22 6:45:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today and speak to Motion No. 42 to designate Hindu heritage month every November moving forward. I could not be more supportive of this motion. I am glad to hear that it seems we have quite a bit of consensus in the House today. We all get a source of pride from multiculturalism across Canada. We know that other months have been designated to celebrate other Canadian heritages or backgrounds, and I think the proposal to have every November designated Hindu heritage month is another contribution for us to not only acknowledge the many contributions that Hindu Canadians make, but also to really celebrate and learn about the richness of the culture that Hindu Canadians bring to Canada. The Hindu community in my riding of Whitby is growing and becoming stronger. Our community is growing rapidly and diversifying, which I am very happy to see because I can relate to and truly appreciate Hindu culture. I love the vibrant colours, clothing, music, food, dances, festivals and the many events I get to attend. The Hindu culture is highly pluralistic. It is not just one religion or god; there are a number of traditions within the Hindu culture. I think that is beautiful. It also has an aesthetic foundation that I really think brings out the arts and unique cultural expression within the culture. We know diversity has always been recognized as a strength for Canada, but I am glad to see we are continually embracing that and recognizing it as a true strength that we have. As we continue to foster diversity, more strength will come with it. We need to facilitate cross-cultural dialogues and really work to learn and appreciate the cultures we get the chance to be exposed to here in Canada. That means being committed to learning, engaging and truly coming to appreciate the various cultures, and the Hindu culture is no exception. I went to an event on September 9 for the unveiling of a statue of Ganesh for Ganesh Chaturthi, organized by the Cultural Association of the GTA and the Durham Telugu Association. It was fantastic. The food was amazing. The statue came all the way from India. It was a big cultural event in our community. There were hundreds of individuals of Hindu faith there, and we really just enjoyed the many aspects of their culture. I am also looking forward to the Diwali, which is coming up in October. It is the festival of lights, which I know many of us celebrate as well, the victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance, which is great. The Diwali tradition brings people together, and we have a lot to be grateful for with respect to that tradition. We have also been encouraging cricket, and it is being played by hundreds of people in my community. It is really growing in popularity. We have been advocating for a cricket pitch for some time, and the many Hindu Canadians who love their cricket are now getting to play in a more permanent pitch in my community. I would also say that there are so many contributions that Hindu Canadians have made to the fabric of our country, and there are over 500,000 Hindu Canadians who continue to make valuable contributions every single day. One in my riding whom I particularly appreciate is the Charminar Indian Cuisine restaurant in Whitby, which during the pandemic was wonderful in feeding frontline workers. It was so generous. It supports all kinds of charity events in our riding. It really does great things, not to mention the fact that the food is fantastic. We also know that here in Ottawa the neurosciences clinic was supported by a very generous donation from the Bhargava family. It is things like this that we really need to recognize. Obviously, many of us have probably appreciated yoga. I know, being six-foot-six, it is something I find a bit difficult, but certainly lots of Canadians can appreciate that as another contribution that Hindus have made to Canada. I have one other really strong tie with Hindu culture. When I studied philosophy at Carleton University many years ago, I read and studied and got many insights from the Bhagavad-Gita. All in all, Hindu Canadians are making great contributions to the country. The fabric of our communities is greatly enhanced by the contributions they make. Their cultural expressions and many traditions and even their religious beliefs and backgrounds are making contributions to how we work together and understand the importance of diversity in our communities. I could not be more supportive of making every November, moving forward, Hindu heritage month. I hope everyone in the House will support this.
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