Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, February 10, we will be celebrating the Lunar New Year, or Tet as the Vietnamese call it.
Tet, which means feast of the first morning, also marks the arrival of spring. 2013 is the year of the water snake, a year of collective wisdom.
This celebration is an opportunity for me to immerse myself in the world of my ancestors and to introduce others to Vietnamese culture.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone to work together and to continue fighting for human rights, justice, democracy and equality.
Attitudes change slowly, so we must be creative and patient, and we must persevere. And we should celebrate the fact that by growing up in a diverse and rich world, Canadian children help bring hope to those living in Vietnam.
Finally, I would like to say to my fellow Vietnamese Canadians that they can count on me to speak on their behalf in the Parliament of Canada and, through my diplomatic ties, in Vietnam.
Enjoy the 2013 Tet festivities. Chuc mung nam moi.