Provincial Human Rights Committee
MAY IS SOUTH ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union together with its Provincial Human Rights Committee and the Workers of Colour Caucus are pleased to recognize and honour this province’s South Asian Community.
On Dec. 14, 2001, with the enactment of Bill 98, the government of Ontario proclaimed May as South Asian Heritage Month and declared May 5 to be South Asian Arrival Day, with the earliest recorded arrival occurring on May 5, 1838.
South Asians have been arriving and settling in Canada over the past 100 years. Although the pioneering South Asian immigrants arrived in the late 19th century, the major flux of immigrants began to arrive in Canada during the early 20th century. Between 1909 and 1943, only 878 South Asians were allowed to enter
Canada. The majority arrived after 1943 due to the liberalization of Canadian immigration laws.
With a surge in immigration since the late 1960s, South Asians now make up over 7 per cent of Ontario's population. They have managed to maintain their distinctive and elaborate cultures, religions, languages and heritage, while still enjoying success in almost every career path or profession, be it politics, law,
medicine, or in the media. The cultural diversity of South Asians in Ontario and Canada is a unique and honorable characteristic that should be recognized, respected and cherished.
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