An Act respecting Arab Heritage Month
Bill C-232 was a Liberal Private Member's Bill respecting Arab Heritage Month (44-1 precursor to 45-1 Bill S-227 establishing April as the month). Approximately 752,635 Canadians self-identified with Arab ancestry on the 2021 Statistics Canada census (covering Lebanese, Egyptian, Moroccan, Syrian, Iraqi, Algerian, Palestinian, Sudanese, Jordanian, and other origins). Arab Canadians are concentrated in Ontario (Mississauga, Ottawa) and Quebec (Montreal). The first wave of Arab immigration to Canada came from Greater Syria in the 1880s. Ontario formally established Arab Heritage Month in 2022 (Ontario Bill 99). Sponsored by Liberal MP Rechie Valdez (Mississauga-Streetsville). Did not pass third reading in 44-1; reintroduced as S-227 of 45-1.
Status
Quick learn
Would make April Arab Heritage Month nationally, recognizing the roughly 750,000 Canadians of Arab ancestry, whose presence in Canada dates to the 1880s. A Liberal private member's bill from Rechie Valdez; it returns in the 45th Parliament as S-227.
Issues this bill touches
- Arts, Culture & Heritage
Designates April as Arab Heritage Month.
Legislative history
- First reading
First reading in the House of Commons.
View source - Second reading
Second reading in the House of Commons.
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Third reading in the House of Commons.
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First reading in the Senate.
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Second reading in the Senate.
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Official source
Read full text on Parliament of Canada