Bill S-219 (Historical)

Journey to Freedom Day Act

An Act respecting a national day of commemoration of the exodus of Vietnamese refugees and their acceptance in Canada after the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War

This bill is from the 41st Parliament, 2nd session, which ended in August 2015.

Status

This bill has received Royal Assent and is now law.

Summary

This is from the published bill.

This enactment designates the thirtieth day of April in each and every year as “Journey to Freedom Day”.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other S-219s:

S-219 (2025) Judicial Independence Day Act

S-219 (2021) Law National Ribbon Skirt Day Act

S-219 (2020) An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (disclosure of information to victims)

S-219 (2020) An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Regulation Adapting the Canada Elections Act for the Purposes of a Referendum (voting age)

Votes

March 25, 2015 Passed That the Bill be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

Canadian HeritageCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

April 2nd, 2015 / 12:10 p.m.

See context

Conservative

Gord Brown Conservative Leeds—Grenville, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 11th report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in relation to Bill S-219, Journey to Freedom Day Act. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House without amendment.

Citizenship and ImmigrationPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

March 25th, 2015 / 3:15 p.m.

See context

Conservative

Mark Adler Conservative York Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present a petition signed by 2,619 Canadians calling for the swift passage and all-party support of Bill S-219, the journey to freedom day act.

Vietnamese CommunityStatements By Members

February 4th, 2015 / 2:10 p.m.

See context

Conservative

Mark Adler Conservative York Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, for people of Vietnamese heritage living in Canada, Tet is a time of rebirth and renewal, a time to let go of the difficulties of the past year and look forward to the promise of a new beginning.

This year is particularly poignant for Canada's Vietnamese community, many of whom make York Centre their home. It marks the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon to the Communist forces from the north. To commemorate this anniversary, I along with Senator Thanh Hai Ngo, are co-sponsoring Bill S-219, the journey to freedom day act.

This bill will establish April 30 as the day to commemorate the exodus of Vietnamese refugees and recognize Canada's role in welcoming so many. This bill also pays homage to the boat people's perilous journey in search of freedom, many of whom lost their lives at sea.

Although a sad anniversary, the journey to freedom day act will serve as a reminder of both the boat people's hazardous journey but also a celebration of their arrival in Canada.

As we celebrate the year of the goat, which symbolizes co-operation, peace and harmony, I say to all Canadians of Vietnamese origin, “Chuc mung nam moi”.

Message from the SenateGovernment Orders

December 8th, 2014 / 7:10 p.m.

See context

The Deputy Speaker Joe Comartin

I have the honour to inform the House that a message has been received from the Senate informing this House that the Senate has passed Bill S-219, An Act respecting a national day of commemoration of the exodus of Vietnamese refugees and their acceptance in Canada after the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War, to which concurrence of the House is desired.