Canada Declares November as "Lebanese Heritage Month"

The Canadian Parliament approved on Wednesday a bill to designate the month of November as "Lebanese Heritage Month." The bill was introduced by Lina G. Diab, the Member of Parliament for West Halifax, after she was appointed Minister of Justice in Nova Scotia following her election in 2013, and later appointed Minister of Immigration in 2015. The rationale behind the proposed bill states: "Whereas the Parliament wishes to recognize and celebrate the historical mark made by Lebanese Canadians and their ongoing contributions to building Canadian society, and whereas recognizing and celebrating Lebanese Heritage Month across Canada would encourage Lebanese Canadians to promote their traditions and culture and share this with all Canadians, therefore, we enact the following: this law may be cited as the Lebanese Heritage Month Act."