Thank you, Madam Chair.
Amendment CPC 39 should be distributed shortly. This one is a Korean holiday.
To read it into the record, amendment CPC 39 states that Bill S-245 be amended by adding after line 18 on page 1 the following new clause:
1.4 Section 24 of the act is amended by adding the following:
Respecting holidays and days of significance to promote Canada's multicultural identity
Section 24.1(25) Citizenship ceremonies may not be scheduled on Chuseok.
Hopefully, I pronounced that correctly.
Chuseok, also known as Hangawi, is a major mid-autumn harvest festival in Korea. Chuseok celebrates the bountiful harvest and strives for the new year to be better than the last. Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of traditional food.
Again, we should be avoiding days of significance like this to ensure that Canadians of Korean heritage can spend them with family, but also so that any new Canadians who are about to take the oath of citizenship don't have to choose between spending time with their families or going to take their oath of citizenship.