Mr. Speaker, many Canadians will join Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and others from around the world on October 19 to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, which symbolizes good over evil. Diwali is now an international event, even acknowledged by the United Nations.
Tomorrow evening I will be hosting the 17th National Diwali Celebration 2017 on Parliament Hill. We have come a long way since I first inaugurated this event back in 1998. We are the first western democracy to celebrate Diwali in Parliament. The success of this truly Canadian national event is due to the participation of the Indo-Canadian community.
This year too, more than 30 temples and community organizations from Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and Ottawa will help me organize this event. I invite all my colleagues to join me tomorrow at the event. I want to wish everyone a happy Diwali.