OTTAWA — Liberal MP Yvan Baker says his proposal to create a Somali Heritage Month in Canada is intended to recognize contributions made by immigrant communities, responding to criticism that emerged after the bill was introduced in Parliament.Baker’s Bill C-283, which received first reading this week, would designate July as Somali Heritage Month. The proposal sparked criticism online from some commentators and politicians.Asked by the Western Standard on Wednesday why the bill appeared to generate a stronger reaction than previous heritage-month proposals he has sponsored, Baker said he had not yet fully assessed the criticism.“At the end of the day, we live in a diverse country. We have people from around the world who immigrated to this country, who contribute to this country, who make Canada the best country in the world,” Baker said.“The heritage bills that I’ve introduced, that other members have introduced in this House of Commons over the years, over the decades, have been a way of celebrating those contributions that these communities are making to Canada. That’s my intention.”.The Somali proposal is the third heritage-month bill Baker has introduced in the current Parliament. He previously tabled legislation to establish Ukrainian Heritage Month and Albanian Heritage Month. All three bills have received first reading but have not yet advanced further in Parliament.Asked what threshold should exist before a cultural community receives a dedicated heritage month, Baker pointed to several diaspora communities in his Etobicoke Centre riding.“My first priority is to the people of Etobicoke Centre,” he said. “The Albanian community, the Somali community, the Ukrainian community, the Polish community — these are significant communities who make great contributions to Etobicoke Centre, but they’ve also made great contributions to Canada.”“I think we live in the greatest country in the world,” Baker added. “All of these communities, whether it’s 0.2%, or 3%, or 2%, or whatever the percentage happens to be, have contributed. And those contributions are part of what makes Canada great.”
