SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 211

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 12, 2023 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 211 - Jun/12/23
Ms. Lena Metlege Diab (Halifax West, Lib.)
Mr. Speaker, last week I was supposed to lead off in the debate on Bill S-246, which seeks to designate November as Lebanese heritage month in Canada. Unfortunately, that did not happen. I would like to point out the importance of this bill for Quebec in particular, because I am giving my speech today in French. According to Statistics Canada, Quebec's Lebanese community accounts for more than a third of all Lebanese Canadians. They chose Quebec because of the close relationship between the Lebanese people, the French language and the global Francophonie. Lebanon is a prime source of new immigrants, which is important because we need to offset the labour shortage and strengthen the vitality of francophone communities. Also, the first edition of the Lebanese Film Festival in Canada took place in Montreal, which is also home to the Saint-Maron eparchial seat. I am eager to continue working with all of my colleagues so that we can all celebrate Lebanese heritage month in November.
167 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border