Madam Speaker, I am quite pleased to join the debate today and speak in support of the motion to establish March as Irish heritage month, in recognition of the contribution of the Irish to Canada.
Celebrating Irish contributions is not something new to people here in Winnipeg. For many years, we have had, during our Folklorama festival, not one but two Irish pavilions in order to be able to experience and celebrate all facets of Irish culture here in Canada. Up to four million Canadians claim some form of Irish ancestry.
I have to say that it is not just anglophones in Canada who have been influenced by the Irish and have ties to Ireland. The Irish also played an important role in the development of Quebec. I thank the member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles for sharing several details about Quebec's Irish heritage.
Of course, many Canadians will have heard of figures like Thomas D'Arcy McGee, who helped forge a compromise between Catholics and Protestants and cleared a path for the creation of Canada, earning him a place in history as one of the fathers of Confederation. Canadians will also have heard of Timothy Eaton, who created a retail empire that served people right across the country. The Eaton's building was a very important landmark in Winnipeg until the turn of this past century when it was demolished to make way for what became Bell MTS Place, the arena that brought the Jets back to Winnipeg.
One contribution I have not heard spoken of yet today, which I think is really important, is the contribution of the Irish to Canada's labour activism. They brought a real class consciousness to working people in Canada and were active in the Winnipeg General Strike. Bob White, a former president of the Canadian Labour Congress who did a lot for Canada's labour movement, hailed from Ireland. In fact, he was born in Northern Ireland.
I am particularly pleased to speak to this motion because of my own Irish heritage and connection. In 2023, it will be 100 years since my Irish great-grandparents followed the path of so many of their compatriots and set sail for Canada, in this case from Belfast. The years just previous to their departure for Canada had been tumultuous and had led, without going into detail, to the partition of Ireland into what we know as the independent Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, with the latter continuing to be part of the United Kingdom. My great-grandparents sought refuge from the ongoing sectarian tensions in Northern Ireland in the peace and stability of Canada. Initially employed by the CNR in Transcona, my great-grandfather eventually found his way into a vocation often associated with the Irish and retired many years later as chief of police for Transcona.
I note this personal history not just as an interesting family narrative, but because 100 years after my grandparents were married in December 1920, the world's attention has been once again turned toward the future of Northern Ireland as a result of Brexit, shorthand for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union. It is not like this would be first time the world's attention has been turned toward Northern Ireland since the 1920s. Indeed, for the last three decades or so of the 20th century, what was often referred to as “the Troubles” claimed many lives and damaged many others.
The Troubles came to an end at the turn of the century as a result of the peace process that depended for its success, in part, on the practical elimination of the once heavily guarded and heavily symbolic border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. For the last 20 years, the ordinary people of both the north and the south have been able to relate to all of Ireland and go back and forth as they please without reminders at a border of the recent violent past or the ongoing debate about their future.
Brexit, by threatening a hard border between the north and south, puts the recent peace at risk by creating conditions and appearances that could potentially be exploited by those who would return to a nastier political time. Therefore, as we celebrate Canada's Irish heritage with the eventual passing of this motion, I hope we urge all parties to the negotiations surrounding British withdrawal from the EU to act in such a way that no one ever again feels the need to leave Northern Ireland because of sectarian tensions.
I note, with some happiness, that just before I came to the House today, I was in a meeting of the international trade committee, where a motion was passed recognizing Canada's important contribution to the conclusion and implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. It calls on the government to ensure that, as we navigate a new trading relationship with the United Kingdom, we do that in a way that affirms and supports the Good Friday Agreement. I note also, with pleasure, that a similar motion was passed at the foreign affairs committee late last week.
I am glad to see there is an ongoing commitment by parliamentarians to the ongoing peace in Ireland. I think one of the best ways we can celebrate that heritage is to continue to play whatever positive role we can in ensuring that peace is long and prosperous on the other side of the pond.
I am thankful for the opportunity to share those remarks.