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Member of Parliament

Lena Metlege Diab

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of Parliament
  • Liberal
  • Halifax West
  • Nova Scotia
  • Voting Attendance: 68%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $116,563.05

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 212 - Jun/14/23
Ms. Lena Metlege Diab (Halifax West, Lib.)
moved that Bill S-246, An Act respecting Lebanese Heritage Month, be read the second time and referred to a committee. She said: Mr. Speaker, it is always a privilege to speak on behalf of the people of Halifax West. Today, as a proud Lebanese Canadian, I am honoured to speak on Bill S-246, which would designate the month of November as Lebanese heritage month across Canada. First I want to thank Senator Jane Cordy for shepherding this bill in the Senate chamber. The bill had its origins with my private member's bill, Bill C-268, last year. It was a special honour to testify at the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology when the bill was being considered at that place, not only because I represent many Lebanese Nova Scotians in Halifax West but also because I have worked throughout my life to share, celebrate and preserve Lebanese culture, language and traditions in Canada. I speak to this bill as the daughter of first-generation Lebanese immigrants to Canada from the tiny village of Diman. I also spent years of my childhood growing up surrounded by grandparents and elders of the village before fleeing war and reuniting with extended family and community back in Nova Scotia. I joined, at the age of 15, Diman Association Canada, a group that was founded in 1973 by second-generation teenagers whose parents emigrated from the village of Diman. This group continues to flourish and celebrates its 50-year anniversary September 30. I also joined the Canadian Lebanon Society of Halifax and was elected for the first time in 1993, over 30 years ago, as the first female president, serving six terms. The last was in 2013, when I entered politics. This organization, founded in 1938 and headed by Lieutenant Edward Francis Arab as its first president, is one of the oldest such organizations in North America. It was founded by first-generation Lebanese immigrants who wanted to stay connected to their heritage, their culture and their mother tongue. We mark its 85th anniversary this November. I am also a former parish council member at Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church. In Halifax, there are two Lebanese churches, Our Lady of Lebanon and Saint Antonios Orthodox Church, and each year each church hosts a summer Lebanese festival, one in June and the other in July, for all to enjoy. A week ago, Our Lady of Lebanon hosted the Lebanese Cedar Festival with food, music, dance performances and so much more. It was a proud moment for me to see my children volunteering at the festival and my grandchildren doing the Lebanese dabke. It was a welcome source of fun and community building and a chance to show our love and provide support to feed Nova Scotia and others in the community. Through my involvement in all these groups, I have met people and groups across the country. I know how significant this recognition would be, as the provincial recognition was significant when we proclaimed it in Nova Scotia in 2018. When our Senate colleagues spoke to Bill S-246, they shared the stories of Lebanese Canadians from across the country, such as the Lebanese peddlers and fur traders who arrived in the late 1800s and early 1900s in P.E.I., Victoria and Edmonton. There is business owner Annie Midlige, the first Lebanese immigrant in Ottawa. There is George Shebib, who introduced the card game tarabish to Cape Bretoners in 1901. There is William Haddad, a shopkeeper's son who became one of the first Arab judges in Canada. There is Nazem Kadri, the Stanley Cup champion, and those who gave their lives for Canada, such as Charlie Younes and Lieutenant Edward Francis Arab, after whom we have named a street in the Westmount subdivision of Halifax. There are also high-performance athletes like John Hanna, John Makdessi and Fabian Joseph from Nova Scotia. There are artists as varied as singer Paul Anka, Drake collaborator Noah “40” Shebib, documentarian Amber Fares, Order of Ontario recipient Sandra Shamas, visual artist Jay Isaac and Order of Canada recipient Consul Wadih M. Fares, just to name a few. There are academics and rights advocates. There are civic leaders from all levels of government and political parties, including former senators and former members of Parliament, as well as my two federal colleagues from Laval—Les Îles and Edmonton—Manning and my former provincial colleagues Patricia Arab and Zach Churchill. There are, of course, Canada's first premier of non-European descent, Premier Joe Ghiz, and later his son Robert Ghiz, and so many more.
781 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
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