Sunday 8 December 2019

Bills Introduced to Have Caribbean Heritage Month Declared in Ontario


By Neil Armstrong

Photo contributed     Michael Coteau, MPP for Don Valley East, with a flyer for Caribbean Heritage Month


Ontario could declare October as Caribbean Heritage Month if the Progressive Conservative-led government endorses a private member’s bill introduced by Michael Coteau, Liberal MPP for Don Valley East, on October 28.

A similar bill, tabled by New Democrats MPP for Brampton Centre and deputy leader, Sara Singh, on November 6 is calling for the month of August to have that designation.

“Canada is home to a large and vibrant Caribbean-Canadian community of 800,000, with more than half of us residing in Ontario,” said Coteau, whose father immigrated to Canada from Grenada.

“I am proud of our community’s incredible vibrancy and the important contributions we make to Canadian society. By proclaiming October as Caribbean Heritage Month, we will celebrate the unique and beautiful Caribbean culture.”

Coteau was approached by the Caribbean Women’s Society earlier in the year to support its initiative to have the month recognized as such by the legislature.

He said the group had received funding from Citizenship and Immigration to do the consultation with community groups and got 600 signatures on a petition, Singh’s support for the bill.

“October is a significant month for the Caribbean-Canadian community. Improvements to the Immigration Act (Canada) in October 1967 and the introduction of the Multiculturalism Policy in October 1971 opened new doors, allowing Caribbean people to see Canada as a place to establish roots, raise their children and become a part of Canada’s mosaic,” notes the preamble of the Act to proclaim the month of October, Caribbean Heritage Month introduced by Coteau.
It further notes that, “Caribbean-Canadians continue to make important contributions to Ontario’s social, economic, political and cultural fabric. Caribbean-Canadians have helped build Ontario into the multicultural success story that it is and have helped to build this province into the best place to live, work and raise families. They continue to help foster growth, prosperity and innovation throughout Ontario.”
It says the Caribbean is a region and a culture made up of 42 distinct nations. “In spite of their brutal history of colonialism, slavery and indentured servitude, today’s Caribbean peoples manifest a beautiful and complex mosaic of ancestries, including Amerindian, African, Asian, South American and European, and a multitude of languages including the six official languages: English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Creole and Papiamento. This remarkably unique region is proudly represented in the newly designed Caribbean Heritage Month symbol and flag.”
The bill notes that despite their rich diversity, Caribbean peoples hold, in common, a long-standing connection to Canada.
“Since the first Caribbeans arrived in Canada in the late 1700s, Caribbean-Canadians from across Ontario have made significant contributions across all fields and industries, including science, education, information technology, medicine, health and wellness, trades, agriculture, food, academia, broadcasting, law, politics, business, sports, philanthropy and arts and culture.”
Coteau said he told the Caribbean Women’s Society that “if they want to get this passed it’s really up to Doug Ford and that they have to go meet Conservative members.”
Providing an update on Bill 139, An Act to Proclaim August as Caribbean Heritage Month, Singh said that since August her office has connected with approximately 45 different organizations across the province and got important feedback.
“Based on those focus groups, on November 6, I tabled Bill 139, An Act to proclaim August as Caribbean Heritage Month,” she said.

Singh noted that in the consultations and online survey the majority of respondents indicated that the month should celebrate the history, accomplishments and contributions of Caribbean Canadians to Ontario and Canada.
They also said a summer month, predominantly, the month of August resonated
most and noted that Emancipation Day, harvest season, and existing festivals in
Ontario with Caribbean roots were all causes for celebration.
She thanked the Caribbean Women's Society and its subsidiary organizations for their input on the month of October.
The group and its members indicated the month of October was significant due to the points system incorporated into the Immigration Regulations in October 1967.
“Yet through the consultation process, it became clear that many felt the policies in the Immigration Act, should not be the basis for a bill celebrating Caribbean history and culture in Ontario. Many highlight that the points system continues to have detrimental impacts to those immigrating to Canada – the continued lack of foreign credentials recognition of new immigrants was one example,” she said.
Singh noted that in the midst of her ongoing consultation process, Coteau tabled Bill 134, An Act to proclaim October as Caribbean Heritage Month.
“Since the bills are inherently different, we will continue
to work with the community on developing Bill 139 to proclaim August as Caribbean Heritage Month before we move to second reading,” she said.
The process towards getting the bill to royal assent requires the government to call it to second reading in the legislature for it to go to debate.
Coteau says the Caribbean Women’s Society chose October as well because “they want to bring some sunshine into a cold part of the year and look for ways to really bring some Caribbean warmth to the country.”
A grassroots, membership-based, volunteer-run nonprofit built on diversity, inclusion and innovation, the group aims to improve the quality of life for the Caribbean-Canadian community.
[An edited version of this story was published in the North American Weekly Gleaner, December 5-11, 2019.]


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