SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 212

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 13, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 212 - Jun/14/23
Mr. Blake Desjarlais (Edmonton Griesbach, NDP)
Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to thank the member for Halifax West for her years of dedication to this, but also for her tremendous will to highlight her community. At a time in Canada when so much feels lost to so many folks, sometimes all we have is who we are. Lebanese Canadians from coast to coast to coast can find solace in the fact that there are champions, not just in this chamber but right across the country, whether they are persons who work in the local grocery store, local business people or folks who have contributed to our Canadian history in ways that will not be forgotten, especially now with the hopeful passage of Bill S-246, designating November as Lebanese heritage month. I want to speak a little to two fronts. One is about how the impact of Lebanese Canadians has affected me in my life, but in particular the community of Alberta. It is no secret that in Alberta there is a long-standing tradition between the Lebanese community and indigenous people in particular. Harkening back all the way to the fur trade, we knew that there were folks who were willing to join indigenous people in what would be the frontier of a new era, an era that would bring peace and prosperity but also a tremendous new way of life to the prairies, one which Lebanese Canadians are builders of. There is a community in central Alberta called Lac la Biche. Lac la Biche is a small northern Alberta community that is home to some of the most vibrant Lebanese family members who I am sure many in the Lebanese community know. The member for Halifax West spoke about this. They have made huge contributions, not only to language diversity in Canada but also to indigenous culture. I want to speak about a unique story in my community. Many of the Lebanese immigrants actually came to Alberta during the fur trade, and then learned languages, like Cree, Dene, Ojibway and Michif. They learned many indigenous languages and then took that with them to all walks of life. Many community members of Lebanese descent in Edmonton, Alberta, are from a little town called Lala. There was actually a teepee built in Lala. I remember as a young person seeing pictures from fellow Métis people of this community, far away, where we had relatives. It happened to be in the community in Lebanon, the tiny town of Lala. This relationship is truly remarkable. It is one that I think emphasizes the tremendous contributions of Lebanese persons to the prairies and to places from coast to coast to coast, and in particular in Atlantic Canada. I want to share a story about how my community in Edmonton was built. It was built by some remarkable Lebanese folks. One remarkable Lebanese person I want to talk about today, and one I hope we could all continue to speak about in many of the heritage months to come, is a woman named Hilwie Jomha, who was from Lala, a small village in the Beqaa Valley, what is now Lebanon, in 1905. She was the daughter of a leading family in a village whose culture was of mixed Sunni, Shia, as well as Christian and Jewish faith. Hilwie's future husband, Ali Hamdon had come to Canada in the early 1900s, together with relatives and friends from the same valley she was from. He became a fur trader in Fort Chipewyan, in northern Alberta, where many of my family members were also fur traders. There is no doubt they would have known each other. After he set up home there, he returned to Lala and to Hilwie. She immigrated with him in 1923 to begin her life's work in Canada, a kind of sacrifice that many make still today in the community, one that is not always easy, sometimes tremendously difficult, but one she took courage in and one that she found a home quickly in. She adapted to life in Alberta. She quickly struck up deep friendships amongst the Jewish communities in Fort Chipewyan. After Hilwie had children, the Hamdons moved to Edmonton where Hilwie truly made her mark, not only as a citizen in Edmonton but as a community leader. The city's small but fast-growing Muslim community had a big problem in the 1930s. Like everywhere else in Canada at that time, they did not have a mosque. Imagine that, not being able to have a place where one could gather with their friends, extended family and community. Prayers had to be held at individuals' homes, but they were limited in what they could do without a common meeting place. Hilwie had a natural gift for connecting people. It was almost like a superpower, something that she was able to do not only as the new burgeoning community of Lebanese were there but also amongst all Edmontonians. She brought Muslims together for Ramadan and became a fixture of the local community during the 1930s. It was a decade when Arab businesses in Edmonton were making their mark on the city's business scene. The Arab community in Edmonton had great strength and it began to have discussions about building a mosque of its very own. Hilwie was at the heart of these conversations. Soon these talks quickly turned into action, and Edmonton's Arab community hatched a plan to build North America's first mosque. Along with a group of Arab businessmen, Hilwie approached the mayor of Edmonton about buying some city land for the mosque, but there was a problem: The mayor wanted $5,000, quite a large sum at the time. However, the community members were not going to be let down, so they organized, but there was not a central body to do it. To solve this problem, the community came together to found an Arab-Muslim association. Hilwie was at the heart of this community organizing. She marshalled the whole community, including people of various religious groups, to build the mosque. Hilwie went door to door on Jasper Avenue, in the heart of Edmonton Griesbach today, and asked business owners to support the project. These efforts allowed the group to buy the land for the mosque and build its foundations. However, there were more challenges. The initial funding was not enough to complete the mosque. When money ran out, Hilwie and the community sprang into action and made appeals for funding to Muslim business owners right across western Canada. This final push toward that work resulted in the construction of the Al Rashid Mosque, which finally opened its doors in Edmonton in 1938. Al Rashid not only became Canada's first mosque but also one of the earliest in all of North America. It quickly became a fixture of local communities and still is to this day. I am pleased to share the story of Hilwie, an incredible human being who helped not only to build the first mosque in Canada's history but also helped build our city, helped build our province and helped build our country. It not only speaks to the strength of Edmonton's Lebanese community; it is also a testament of what Canada is and what Canada can be. Lebanese heritage month would ensure that we have an opportunity to honour and celebrate remarkable Canadians like Hilwie every single year, which is something I am more than proud to stand to recognize. I want to mention that as this bill proceeds, the New Democratic Party and I are pleased to support it in all stages. Before I end, I want to mention some other remarkable people of Lebanese origin in my life, like the El Safadi brothers, who opened the doors of the first Lebanese grocery store in Edmonton. It became a mainstay of Arab Edmontonian diets, and I am sure that many of the Lebanese folks watching know very well, if they have ever visited Edmonton, that it is a staple. Another example is the Canadian Arab Friendship Association, which wins the heritage day every single year, placing first in the festival. This year, as a matter of fact, the festival is being hosted in Edmonton Griesbach, and it has won that award for 17 years. To conclude, I want to mention someone who is quite special in my life and special to the New Democratic Party, and that is Anthony Salloum. Some members may know Anthony Salloum as the person in our opposition lobby, but Anthony Salloum is so much more. He is a remarkable human being who has served the New Democratic Party for over 20 years in an official capacity, and I am sure much longer than that unofficially. He is not only the person who sparks up a smile when someone walks by in the lobby or consoles them when they are having a bad day; he is also somebody who is going to reach across many party lines, because for him it is not about party but about people, just like many in the Lebanese community right across our country. He is someone who demonstrates the spirit and heart of the Lebanese community, like those in my community and right across Canada. The goodwill, the nature of community and the ability to support others is a staple that is huge in my life. I know I have been able to stand in this place with greater courage, with greater power and with a greater voice because of him. To Anthony and to the many Lebanese right across our country, I want to thank you for your contribution and thank you for building your home here. This is truly home to us all.
1624 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
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