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Member of the Joint Interparliamentary Council Whip of the New Democratic Party Member of the panel of chairs for the legislative committees

Heather McPherson

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of the Joint Interparliamentary Council Whip of the New Democratic Party Member of the panel of chairs for the legislative committees
  • NDP
  • Edmonton Strathcona
  • Alberta
  • Voting Attendance: 67%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $141,604.97

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 273 - Feb/1/24
Ms. Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, NDP)
  • Feb/1/24 5:42:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure and a delight to stand and represent the people of Edmonton Strathcona. It is a pleasure today, as the foreign affairs critic for the New Democratic Party, to also stand and speak about Motion No. 75, with respect to Polish heritage month. I was in Poland less than a year ago, and it is a country I need to spend more time in. I am delighted to stand here and talk about the contributions Polish Canadians have made to Canadian society, our economy, our politics and our culture. The Polish community began settling in Canada over 160 years ago. Many of those settlers were in Edmonton, Alberta, where we have a very strong and important Polish community. I remember being present for the unveiling of the strikingly beautiful and impressive monument celebrating the centennial recently. It perfectly captures the strength and determination of the Polish settlers who came to Alberta to build a better life for themselves and to help build a better life for all of us in Canada. Polish settlers helped build our cities and institutions. Over the past 160 years, Polish immigrants and their descendants, who have been teachers, engineers, doctors, lawyers, architects, business leaders and, yes, even politicians, have made Alberta the vibrant and prosperous place it is today. Speaking of politicians, I have to think of my friend Thomas Lukaszuk. It is not often in this place that a New Democrat stands and talks about their friend who was a Conservative member of the legislative assembly, but Thomas is a real champion for human rights, something I believe in deeply. I was so proud to know him not only when he worked so hard to get help for Ukraine and helped Ukrainians settle in Edmonton during the illegal war in Ukraine but also as he has stood up for Palestinians and has helped raise funds and support for them now as Gaza is seeing such a terrible humanitarian crisis. I have to say that there are over 190,000 Canadians who cite Polish as their mother tongue. There are things that I humbly say I am quite good at, but pronouncing Polish words is not one of them. I do not come from a Polish background. My name, as I am sure members can all imagine, is Scottish, so my staff have written out a number of greetings they expected me to bring to the Polish community tonight, but I think my greatest gift to it would be to not say those greetings. I can say, though, that one of the more selfish things I feel about this opportunity for us to celebrate Polish culture and the Polish Canadian connection is the ability for us to eat Polish food. In Edmonton, that is something we have a great opportunity to do on a regular basis. Therefore, knowing that each May would be designated Polish heritage month feels to me like an excellent opportunity for us to learn more about Polish cuisine, and I am very excited about that. It is one of the very rich and meaningful contributions that the Polish diaspora has made to our country. However, on a more serious note, today allows us to take an opportunity to recognize the Polish people and the Polish diaspora for their resilience and determination. It was the resilience of the Polish people that got them through wars and occupations, including that by the Third Reich, which led many average Polish people to join the underground resistance. It was the organization of workers striking in the Gdansk shipyards that led to the emergence of the Solidarity trade union, a group that would later participate in talks that led to the fall of communism in Poland. It is these hardy qualities that Polish Canadians bring to Canada, along with their kindness and their sense of community, things that I think all Canadians should embrace. I wanted to take today as an opportunity to thank the Polish people both here in Canada and in Poland for the kindness and the generosity that they have shown over the past two years.
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