Mr. Speaker, I was really happy to be able to previously speak to Jewish heritage month, and so it is a pleasure to once again have a chance to rise and speak about this important private member's bill, which is going to give the opportunity to all of us to celebrate our Jewish heritage here in this country.
As someone who is proud to now live in Toronto, one of the parts I really enjoy is the opportunity this bill would give people as an encouragement to discover our heritage and history of Jewish Canadians living in Toronto. Jewish people have been in Toronto since the early 19th century, but since the 1970s we have become the largest Jewish community in the whole country. We now number about 200,000 people. We have made our mark in the city, showing all the things we can contribute in so many ways through our cultural centres, art, and food, which I will get to. The last time I spoke about bagels, and we have so much more tremendous food in the city.
One of the parts I really enjoy is the music. For me, Jewish music, klezmer music, is something that really makes me happy. Being 2018, this year will mark my 20th wedding anniversary in August, and at our wedding we had the Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band. We had klezmer music, and it was a really wonderful way for us to celebrate the day. It was 20 years ago, and I get to bring back memories of great music.
The Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band just celebrated its 30th anniversary with a concert at Hugh's Room in Toronto. It is just a chance for us to get out there and listen to the music we have in our city. There is an Ashkenaz festival that has often happened down at the harbourfront. It is a place people can go to listen to music and really enjoy and celebrate together. When I think about Jewish heritage month, I get to think about things like that, chances to get out and really enjoy our music and celebrate.
I also like to think about things like film. Many years ago, I went to the Jewish Film Festival. In fact, this year it will be held May 3 to May 13. People can go out and get their tickets. The film I remember from the last time I went to the movies is Havana Nagila, which is a film that is very topical for the moment because we are on the eve of Passover. It is a film about Jewish Canadians who went to Cuba to help Jewish Cubans celebrate Passover by bringing matzo and haggadot, and to have the chance to celebrate and see the different ways different countries celebrate the holiday.
It is opportunities like that, going out and seeing movies, listening to the music, and telling the stories, where we can really hear about and experience our Jewish heritage. When I was thinking about films, we do not just have the Jewish Film Festival. There is also a Jewish Film Society that is located at the Miles Nadal Centre. This is a year full of anniversaries, apparently. In fact, this year the society is celebrating 40 years. It is the longest-running Jewish film society in all of North America, and it is based in Toronto. The Jewish Film Society was founded in 1978, and it has eight Jewish film events throughout the year. These include discussions, where people have the opportunity to learn more about these films.
The next one is coming up on April 8, and it is called Hanna's Journey. It might be a bit of a spicy film. I was looking at the description, and it might be a little controversial. It might be an interesting choice for people who are looking for a film. If people cannot make the April 8 film, the next one after that is on June 3, and it is called Melting Away. It is a Jewish film, but in celebration of pride because it is also happening during pride month.
These are ways we see how Jewish history is evolving in our city through the arts, with our music and films, and there are opportunities to enjoy them every day in our city. However, with a Jewish heritage month, it would give us an extra impetus to go out and seek those opportunities.
There is a lot more that happens at the Miles Nadal Centre as well. It is located right on Spadina and Bloor, a downtown hub location. It is somewhere people can take Yiddish lessons. Maybe because of Jewish heritage month, people will want to go out and renew the Yiddish language.
I have to say it is one of those things that I have noticed in my own family. My grandparents spoke Yiddish perfectly well, my father a little less, and with me, they used it as a secret language to talk about things when they did not want me to understand. I do not really understand Yiddish at all. When I saw that there are Yiddish lessons at Miles Nadal, I thought that it was a chance to understand what my dad is talking about when he is talking to others in Yiddish. I might seek out some of these lessons.
They also do Shabbat together. I particularly like the “no-shush Shabbat”. That Shabbat is noisy by design, for people who otherwise might not feel welcome, those with families, with young kids, and it is loud. It is an opportunity for people to rediscover Shabbat, and the community meal that brings people together.
What I really love about the vibrancy of the Jewish community in Toronto is that it has so many different aspects like that. There is such an inclusive feel, with opportunities for people who maybe have not really thought about their Jewish heritage or who want to learn more about it, to be able to jump in and learn more. It is kind of an exciting thing.
When I think about Jewish heritage in Toronto, though, I think about the King of Kensington. Many may have watched it on CBC in the past. If I thought about the one person who I saw on TV who was a Jewish person, and what that meant as part of our cultural history, our television history, it was the King of Kensington. Just down the street from the Miles Nadal Centre is the Kensington Market. That is where the TV show was based.
There are walking tours that people can take if they are interested in Jewish history. If during Jewish heritage month members are interested in getting out there and learning more, they can in fact take a walking tour through the Kensington Market to learn about how the Jewish community really came together at Kensington Market in the 1920s and built up the market.
It has changed. It is not a largely Jewish community anymore, but there are still parts of the history to be found there, including some synagogues. It is a chance to really see how the life continues to be vibrant in the changeover. I recommend it. May is a nice warm month. People should get out there, take a walking tour, go walk around in Kensington Market, and think about the King of Kensington.
Last time I closed off speaking about food, and again we are at that hour of the day when I start thinking about food. I would like to close by talking about some Jewish food.
In Toronto, we now have NoshFest, which I think is a wonderful idea. It happened in October last year, at the Artscape Wychwood Barns. There were cooking demonstrations and kids' activities, and klezmer music.
There was also a chance to eat all sorts of Jewish foods, like dill pickles, knishes, even new twists on knishes, bagels, rugelach, and because Passover is around the corner, I have to mention that they had gefilte fish, which is not my favourite Jewish food but they had it there. It was something for people to go and check out.
One of the things that I think about when I think about heritage is mementoes in the kitchen, things that bring back childhood memories. For me, it is a cookbook called Second Helpings, Please. Lots of Jewish households across the country have that cookbook. They actually had a signing at NoshFest. They have a renewed Second Helpings, Please, and they had a signing by the authors of the cookbook. I am going to have to go check it out, and try some of the recipes during Jewish heritage month. That brings a particular smile. I can remember my mom going through the pages of that book.
I know that my time for debate is coming to an end, so I will just close by mentioning that we are heading into Passover. It is just around the corner. To me, it is one of the most important holidays. It is a chance to slow down, spend time with family, share stories, and to talk about our heritage. It is when we build our heritage and our future. As we head into Jewish heritage month, I really want to thank the member for York Centre for bringing this to us. This is going to be a chance to celebrate so much of what we have, and it is so vibrant in the Jewish community across Canada, but in Toronto in particular.