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Latin American heritage month

Close to 40,000 people in the Lower Mainland have Latin American heritage. The community is vibrant and diverse, and every year there are plenty of wonderful events and activities highlighting and celebrating their culture. This year, from June 27 to July 8, Vancouver will celebrate Latin American Week. Carnaval del Sol, a free family-friendly festival, is always one of the biggest attractions. This year will be the 10th annual Carnaval del Sol, and will feature close to 400 performers showcasing singers, dancers, bands, and incredible food. Latin American Week will give people the opportunity to attend cooking classes, dancing classes, a fashion show, and plenty of arts and crafts displays highlighting the diversity of Vancouver's Latin American community. From August 23 to September 2, Vancouver will have its 16th annual Latin American Film Festival showcasing contemporary Latin American and Latin Canadian filmmaking. I encourage all Canadians to check similar events in their communities or in communities nearby, as festivals and events like these happen across Canada each year. If there is not one in their community, I invite people to come to Vancouver and check out ours.

 

On S-210: Addressing Racism and Inequality

Medical inadmissability and Bill C-398

On February 15th, 2018, I tabled Bill C-398 urgently calling on the Minister of Immigration to repeal an immigration law that discriminates against people with disabilities.  The Minister of Immigration admitted that Section 38(1)(c) of the Immigration Refugee Protection Act goes against Canada's stated values on inclusion and the ideals we purportedly uphold as Canadians.  

NDP: END DISCRIMINATORY IMMIGRATION POLICY AGAINST PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

OTTAWA – In order to repeal an existing law in Canada’s Immigration Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), NDP Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Critic, Jenny Kwan, is tabling a private member’s bill to remove the discriminatory clause. As it stands, Section 38(1) (c) of the Act discriminates against people with disabilities by allowing for the rejection of an entire family of applicants if one individual has a disability or medical condition.

On the Women’s Memorial March

Speech on Bill C-262 - Implementing UNDRIP

Hill Times: constituency aides are an MP’s ‘eyes and ears,’ says NDP MP Kwan, and her team is a busy one

https://www.hilltimes.com/2018/02/05/biotechnology-153/133189

No two ridings are the same, and with a large immigrant population, more than 70 different languages spoken, and a high proportion of low-income families, NDP MP Jenny Kwan’s downtown riding of Vancouver East, B.C. is one of the busiest in Canada.

“We fly by the seat of our pants a lot of the time,” said Ms. Kwan in an interview with The Hill Times in her Confederation Building office in Ottawa.

Jenny Kwan statement on Black History Month

Letter in honour of the 104th World Day of Migrants and Refugees

Dear Archbishop Miller,

Today I write to you in observance of the 104th World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

In my capacities as Member of Parliament for Vancouver-East, the NDP Critic for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, and the Vice-Chair for the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, the issues, hardships, and success stories of refugees are incredibly important to me. I have had the opportunity to work with and advocate for refugee sponsorship groups and resettlement organizations in Vancouver to ensure that refugees arriving in Canada receive a warm welcome and can access the services they need to settle and thrive in their new home. I have also had many opportunities to meet with and do what I can to assist in that process with refugees to our community themselves. It has been an incredible experience, and the outpouring of support by our community during the Syrian refugee initiative was truly heartwarming.

Jenny Kwan: Statement on the Nanjing Massacre

On Dec. 13, events will be held in Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, and B.C. to mark the Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day.

Eighty years ago, Imperial Japanese army forces raped an estimated 20,000 to 80,000 Chinese women and girls, and some 300,000 people were killed. Western eye-witnesses in Nanjing described the atrocities as “hell on earth”.

After the Nanjing massacre, the military sexual slavery system for the Japanese military expanded rapidly. Some 200,000 women from Korea, the Philippines, China, Burma, Indonesia, and other Japanese occupied territories were tricked, kidnapped or coerced into working in brothels to serve as “comfort women” to the Imperial Japanese Army.

Documents of the Nanjing massacre were included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

Thekla Lit, from BC ALPHA, worked with the B.C. NDP government to develop a resource guide, including The Rape of Nanking.

I thank Canada ALPHA for its dedication to ensuring that Canadians remember and learn from this history.