The Ontario Legislative Assembly has unanimously approved a bill declaring May of each year as “Armenian Heritage Month,” Asbarez reports.
Bill 105 was sponsored by Scarborough-Agincourt Member of the Provincial Parliament (MPP) Aris Babikian. The Ontario Legislative Assembly is the first legislature in Canada to adopt such a measure to honor and pay tribute to Canadian-Armenian contribution to Canadian society.
“I am overwhelmed by the unanimous and unwavering support and solidarity of my colleagues in the Legislative Assembly,” said Babikian after the adoption of the bill. “I am humbled to be their colleague and represent the people of Scarborough-Agincourt in the Ontario house of democracy.”
“My heartfelt gratitude to Ministers Paul Calandar (Markham-Stouffville, Stephen Lecce (King-Vaughan), Lisa Macleod (Nepean), and colleagues Robin Martin (Eglinton-Lawrence), Vincent Ke (Don Valley North), Effie Traintafilopoulos ( Oakville-Burlington), Logan Kanapathi (Markham-Thornhill), Jennifer Stevens (St. Catharines), and Gurratan Singh (Brampton-Center) for their camaraderie and heartfelt expressions,” added Babikian. “I am proud to sponsor this Bill and uphold the memory of our pioneers who sacrificed so much so that the community may thrive and make it a model for so many other groups.”
In his speech, MPP Babikian cited the history of the Armenians in Ontario, the establishment of various Armenian communities in the province, Canada’s noble experiment in helping Armenian Genocide survivors and orphans, and why May was selected as the month to celebrate Ontario Armenians. In his speech, Babikian mentioned the names of some of the renowned Ontario Armenians who have left their indelible impact on Ontario daily life.
On April 24, 1915, a large group of Armenian intellectuals was rounded up and assassinated in Constantinople by the Ottoman government. On April 24, 2022, Armenians worldwide will be commemorating the 107th anniversary of the Genocide which continued until 1923. Some three dozen countries, hundreds of local government bodies and international organizations have so far recognized the killings of 1.5 million Armenians as Genocide. Turkey denies to this day.
