Mr. Speaker, my thanks to my friend and colleague, the member for Scarborough Centre, for bringing forward to this House a motion that I believe makes a very powerful statement about Canada's diversity and how important our diversity is to us as a nation. I would argue, as our Prime Minister has on numerous occasions, that it is one of the greatest strengths we have as a nation. It is one of the reasons we will continue to do well as a country into the future.
I was first elected in 1988. From virtually day one, I have been touched and blessed by members of the Filipino community. The community has been a major part of my life. It is second to no other community that I personally, and my family, identifies with, whether it is my kuya, Henry Celonas, or the many brothers, sisters and friends I have within the community who have assisted in shaping me and my family. Today the community continues to grow and be prosperous. As my colleague behind me referenced, we are approaching, in the next few years, one million people of Filipino heritage here in Canada.
I want to talk about the Manitoba story, if I can. Back in November of 1959, we had four people from the Philippines arrive in the province of Manitoba. It is believed that they were the first four from that community to actually arrive. In May 2009, I had the privilege in the Manitoba legislature to introduce a resolution to mark the 50th anniversary of those four nurses arriving in Manitoba.
It might have started with some of those professionals, such as nurses and health care workers and teachers and so forth, but it went right through every aspect of the economy. In fact, it was the garment workers of 1968 and 1969 and then 1971 and 1972 who really started to grow the community, as thousands of garment workers then started to sponsor fiancés, nephews and nieces and cousins to come to Manitoba to help fill the many jobs in a wide spectrum of industries.
Today the Filipino community in the province of Manitoba is getting close to 100,000. Think about that. Canada's population is getting close to 37 million and the Filipino community is getting close to one million. I would suggest that in the province of Manitoba, we get a good sense of how much that community has contributed to the overall economic and social vibrancy of the province. It continues to grow and prosper. It adds so much value.
We have a resolution saying that the month of June be recognized as Filipino heritage month. I think it is important for us to pass this resolution. Some provinces actually have done it. In the city of Winnipeg, we have had Philippine Heritage Week for many years. There are all sorts of celebrations.
To see a formal resolution to acknowledge the many contributions of the Filipino community is so wonderful and pleasing. I believe that in the month of June what we will see are extra activities that go beyond the Filipino community and a better understanding of the contributions this community has made not only to my home province of Manitoba but to Canada. No matter where one goes in Canada, we find that there is a healthy Filipino community that continues to grow and share its culture and heritage while becoming a part of Canadian heritage. When I think of people of Filipino heritage, I think of kind, loving, hard-working people with very strong ethics.
I would like to conclude my remarks by wishing everyone the very best in recognizing how important this resolution is. I encourage people, by June 2018, to be engaged with the community and to promote how much it has contributed to our country over the last 70 years.