FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – updated May 12, 2007 

CCNC Celebrates Asian Heritage Month 

TORONTO. The Month of May is Asian Heritage Month. The Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) applauds efforts by local groups to organize events for Asian Heritage Month. “We congratulate the local organizers, many of whom are members of CCNC and the Pan-Asian Canadian Network Against Racism,” Colleen Hua said today. “Many of the events reflect on the need for inclusive education that speaks to our shared Asian Canadian heritage.” 

“We urge educators and provincial education authorities to be mindful of the deep roots of Asian Canadian communities and to ensure that our community’s contributions to the building of Canada, are included in the curriculum for both elementary and secondary schools.” 

Asian Heritage Month 2007 

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of Asian Heritage Month groups, websites or events. Please check the websites for events in your local area. We have listed some specific CCNC/PanAsian Network events which may be of interest to you. Please check www.ccnc.ca for updates to this notice throughout the month of May. Please see messages from the Prime Minister and Secretary of State (Multiculturalism) below. 

Halifax: Asian Heritage Month (Halifax)

http://asianheritagemonth.halifax.chebucto.org/ 

Fredericton: Asian Heritage Month Committee (Fredericton)

Email: madhuverma@rogers.com 

Education Roundtable: Identifying Teaching Resources for Asian Canadian Heritage Education; Keynote Speaker: Senator Vivienne Poy.

May 31, 2007 Time: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at STU Department of Education.

To registration please e-mail rverma@unb.ca            

Montreal: Accès Asie

http://www.accesasie.com/  

Ottawa: Ottawa Asian Heritage Month Society

http://www.asianheritagemonth.net/ 

CCNC and Ontario Coalition of Chinese Head Tax Payers and Families news conference:

May 14, 2007 at 1:00 pm

Charles Lynch Gallery, Room 130-S, in Centre Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario 

CCNC Ottawa presents: “I Am the Canadian Delegate”, a documentary film about Douglas Jung who was a war veteran and the first Chinese Canadian MP.

Producer/Director, Wesley Lowe, will be in attendance.

May 14, 2007 at 7:30 pm, Library and Archives Canada Auditorium.

Please call to reserve: 613-992-2618. 

Toronto: Asian Heritage Month

http://asian-heritage-month.org/ 

Education Roundtable: Creating Teaching Resources for Asian Canadian Heritage Education.

May 11, 2007: Tea/Coffee Reception at 3:00 p.m. at University College Union, 79 St. George Street; Education Roundtable at 4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. at Room 140, University College, University of Toronto, 15 King’s College Circle.

Please register by e-mail: asianheritagecanadian@yahoo.ca 

CCNC PanAsian Network Forum: Civic ParticipAsian

May 19, 2007 1:30pm – 3:30 pm.

4th floor, 215 Spadina Avenue.

Register for the forum by email: karen@ccnctoronto.ca 

Winnipeg: Asian Heritage Manitoba

http://www.asianheritagemanitoba.ca/ 

Edmonton: Edmonton Asian Heritage Month

http://www.asian.ca/heritagemonth/ 

Calgary: imaginAsian

http://www.asianheritagecalgary.ca/ 

Masala Journey begins at the Boyce Theatre on May 4th

With a gala presentation of award-winning filmmaker Ali Kazimi’s Continuous Journey, the story of the Komagata Maru and its 376 passengers.

For tickets or information, please call 403-264-2778. 

Vancouver: explorAsian

http://www.explorasian.org/ 

CAN-FV, ACCESS and various community groups present:

Fearless TV on the Shaw cable 4, the community channel on:

Saturday, April 28 @ 3:00am and 12noon.

Sunday, April 29 @ 9:00am.

Our Story: Chinese Head Tax Mash Up - a spoken work and music video by no luck club (NLC) on Canada's history of racist targeting of the Chinese from 1885-1947.

Visuals provided by the Saltwater City Television Collective. 

No One is Illegal-Vancouver and supported by ACCESS and SANSAD present:

BEYOND MULTICULTURALISM: a critical perspective on labour, migration, and race in a special film screening and discussion.

Thursday May 3^rd at 6:00 pm: “In the Shadow of Gold Mountain” followed by panel discussion; 7:30 pm: “Continuous Journey.”

Rhizome Café, 317 E. Broadway (corner Kingsway), Films by donation $0-5. 

Head Tax Families Society of Canada will mark the 60^th anniversary of full rights and the vote for the Chinese in Canada. The Canadian Citizenship Act, which went into effect in the spring of 1947, defined the franchise as part of citizenship status. 

Saturday May 12, 2007 at 9:00am at the Memorial to Railway Workers and War Veterans

Keefer and Columbia (NE corner), Vancouver

Contact: Sid Tan – 604-783-1853 

CCNC is a community leader for Chinese Canadians in promoting a more just, respectful, and inclusive society. CCNC is a national non-profit organization with 27 chapters across Canada with a mandate to promote the equality rights and full participation of our community members in all aspects of Canadian society.  

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For more information, please contact: 

Victor Wong, CCNC Executive Director (416) 977-9871  

end 

Statement from Prime Minister Harper: 

May 2007

Asian Heritage Month  

I am very pleased to join Canadians from coast to coast to coast as we celebrate Asian Heritage Month.  

Canada is a country where people from very different cultural backgrounds have bonded together to create a pluralistic and inclusive society. Throughout the years, people from all over the globe have come to this country in search of new opportunities and a better life for themselves and their families. They have brought with them valuable skills, a commitment to hard work and the family. They have added immeasurably to every community in which they have settled, and their efforts have helped ensure that Canada in the 21st century is strong and vibrant.  

Asian Heritage Month provides an opportunity, not only to celebrate the rich heritage of Asian Canadians, but also to recognize the important role that they have played in building our great country like Douglas Jung, the first Chinese Canadian Member of Parliament. On behalf of the Government of Canada, I invite all Canadians to participate in the Asian Heritage Month activities that are taking place in your communities.  

Sincerely,

The Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P.

Prime Minister of Canada  

End

Statement from Secretary of State Jason Kenney: 

Secretary of State

(Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity) 

Secretaire d'Etat

(Multiculturalisme et Identite canadienne)

Ottawa, Canada K1A OMS 

In recognition of the long and rich history of Asian Canadians, in December 2001, the Senate of Canada designated the month of May as Asian Heritage Month. Since then, communities across the country have been organizing annual festivities that pay tribute to and celebrate this important part of our Canadian heritage. 

Throughout the years, Asian Canadians, with backgrounds from different regions of Asia, have brought with them a vibrant and diverse cultural heritage-including a wealth of languages, ethnicities and religions-that has had a tremendous impact on our society. 

Asian Heritage Month provides us with a wonderful opportunity, not only to learn more about the role that Asian Canadians have played in building our great country, but also to recognize their rich heritage and to celebrate their contributions to Canada. 

This year, as we celebrate the 6thanniversary of Asian Heritage Month, I would like to remind Canadians of two important milestones-the 60thanniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923and the enfranchisement of Chinese Canadians, and the 50thanniversary of the election of the first Chinese Canadian Member of Parliament, Douglas Jung. 

Many different organizations throughout Canada have planned an exciting array of activities in honour of Asian Heritage Month, and I intend to participate in as many as possible. I invite all Canadians to join in the celebrations, and in doing so, to reflect upon the significant ways in which Asian Canadians have helped shape our nation. 

As Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity), I want to express my appreciation to Asian Canadians who, in so generously sharing their heritage, have contributed to the strength and diversity that we enjoy as a nation. 

Jason Kenney