Madam Speaker, today is Nowruz, which means “new day” in Persian. Yesterday, I was pleased to host a Nowruz celebration on Parliament Hill with the participation of about 700 Canadians of Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghan, Turkey and Kazak heritage, and other Canadians.

Nowruz is a time of renewal, new beginnings and shared aspirations of hope and optimism for the year ahead. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the many communities that observe Nowruz and the important contributions they make to Canada.

I would also like to recognize Alma Rahmani for her hard work in assisting my office in organizing the Nowruz event. I would like to recognize Mendi Fallahi and Nigar Aliyeva who received an award for their service to their communities in Canada.