Today, I sponsored Petition E-7523, which calls on the House of Commons to officially designate February as Canadian Chinese Heritage Month in honour of the contributions of Chinese Canadians, the hardships that they have faced, and Canada’s constitutional contributions to multiculturalism. Establishing a Canadian Chinese Heritage Month is long overdue on a national level. With recognition of this initiative throughout numerous municipalities across Canada – Markham included – and reaching provincial legislatures – Ontario among the first – it is time to take the most reasonable next step at the federal level. We are working to ensure that the Canadian Chinese community is celebrated and recognized across the country. The petition is open until August 15, 2026. Thank you to Marvin Rotrand, Director General of United Against Hate, for reaching out and initiating this petition! To see the full text and sign the petition, please visit the following URL: ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/P…

Back in April, I had the incredible honour of attending the York Region GRACE Lions Club 3rd Anniversary Celebration and Charity Singing Night at Auric King. We gathered to support and celebrate the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides. The event raised over $10,000, reaffirming our community’s support for Canadians with disabilities. Events like these are rungs on a ladder that pull us ever towards more accessible and inclusive communities: communities that aspire towards full participation. Sometimes we achieve this state of full participation through the elimination of barriers; however, other times we rise through the barriers with a little help from our friends along the way, as the guide dogs at the centre of April’s event. The simple truth is that narratives can change; every paradigm shift begins with a reframe as we start to see existing occurrences in a new light. As we took the time to celebrate the contributions of disabled Canadians and to recognize the ongoing efforts of those working to remove barriers and promote inclusion in April, we contributed to such a reframe. By honouring a theme with an evening of pause, space is given to step outside the old frame as we imbue the selected theme with more weight – the scales shift and a new way of seeing the world is born among the participants. Thank you to everyone who supported this event, so that we could see the value of guide dogs, with eyes renewed.

As the MP for Markham-Unionville, I am grateful for the relationship that I have with the Sanatan Mandir Cultural Centre (SMCC). A beautiful temple located right on Woodbine and 16th Avenue, the SMCC faithfully serves our vibrant Hindu community. I am proud to support spaces such as the SMCC that honour our country’s diverse and multicultural social fabric. What I admire the most about what has been achieved at the SMCC is its synthesis of the spiritual, educational, and cultural dimensions into a single place of gathering. Our modern life is often found lacking because we have chosen to separate these three foundational domains and, when divided, they have become less effective tools for enriching our lives. As we live not by bread alone, the spiritual, the educational, and the cultural facets of civilization cannot be consumed separately: they are a layer cake that should be had in a single spoonful. Over the course of this year, I want to highlight two events that I participated in at the SMCC. On March 13, I attended a ceremony marking the appointment of Shri Rameshbhai Chotai, recognizing him to be the next Honourary Consul General of Uganda in Canada. A pharmacist and community leader, Rameshbhai’s appointment reflects his years of service and commitment to the country where he now calls home. And, just a few short weeks ago, I gave remarks at the SMCC’s Annual Gala Fundraising Dinner, an inspiring event that brought together community leaders, dignitaries, and supporters for an evening full of goodwill and generosity, raising funds to support SMCC’s operations. It is always nice to see people coming together for a worthy cause, especially for a mission-driven institution like the SMCC that creates so much value for our community. Thank you always for the warm welcome, and I look forward to the years ahead!

Youth are the economic engine of a nation – it is only by carving out a future in which they have a sense of place and purpose that we can enable them to thrive. In the pursuit of this youthful flourishing, we must sometimes take a step back, provide them with foundational resources, and see what they choose to build. Back in March, I had the opportunity to do just this at a Youth Innovation Showcase organized by the Canada-China Federation of Entrepreneurs (CCFOE). Seeded by the Canada Service Corps, it was an afternoon of fund allocation to promising projects; it was an honour to deliver the V.I.P. speech and to recognize the work that these young entrepreneurs have done to foster innovation in the community. Above all, this gathering highlights the importance of building a Canada in which young people are empowered with opportunities to succeed in today’s economy. Fundamentally, our government is committed to supporting the growth and development of young people. Thank you to everyone who made this event a success.

The global economy is more than a year into a profound rupture – the rules of our world order are being rewritten in real time. During a consolidated order, there are decades where nothing passes; as we undergo an interregnum of orders, there are weeks and months where decades happen. As Gramsci elucidated so eloquently, “the old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.” The venture of a nation requires anchorage in safe harbours as the storm rages – economic security, industrial policy, and geopolitical competition are increasingly shaping investment, trade, and financial decisions. In this era of global uncertainty, it is more important than ever that we ensure that the skilled trades matter. This is why our government has invested $2 billion to get young Canadians interested in the trades, fixing Red Seal certification delays and helping apprentices finish training with $16,000. At the end of May, I was able to see for myself the importance of skilled trades. I visited the National Skills Competition at Exhibition Place, where 550 competitors from the construction, I.T., and training sectors engaged in friendly competitions that drew in a crowd of more than 10,000 visitors. I am always encouraged to see so many people who share the belief that I and our government hold – that the skilled trades are the foundation of a value-added economy with increasing returns dynamics.

Building on yesterday’s theme of social capital, I wanted to highlight organizations like the Toronto Unity Lions Club, who invited me to serve as a distinguished opening guest at their Pickleball Charity Fun Game back in April. In order to foster consistent and repeatable events, it takes organizations like the Lions Club to act as true community anchors. It was a pleasure to join such a dedicated group of volunteers, committed to bringing people together through sports. By uniting athletes and community members from across the GTA, the event created a vibrant and welcoming atmosphere full of energy, connection, and friendly competition.

Putnam’s magnus opus, Bowling Alone, documented the “shrinking stock of social capital” across American society at the end of the twentieth century. The core idea behind social capital is that “social networks have value” and that “a dense network of reciprocal social relations” is the wellspring of a well-functioning society. A rich and dense associational life is expressed through the emergence of, and participation in, sports leagues, places of worship, neighbourhood groups, civic associations, and volunteer associations, among other permutations. This is why, looking back to March, I’m honoured to have been invited to attend and speak at the Third Mudan Cup Pickleball Mixed Team Open Tournament Press Conference. The tournament brought together 32 mixed teams, composed of over 230 athletes, who competed against each other with incredible energy and sportsmanship. This tournament marks an exciting milestone in the continued growth of pickleball within our riding of Markham-Unionville, highlighting the sport’s rising popularity. Thanks to all the organizers, athletes, volunteers, and attendees involved for making this event possible – you are all social entrepreneurs. Your collective efforts have contributed greatly to the success of the event and, more importantly, to the growing stock of social capital in our region. When we reinvest in civic engagement, we fight against the mounting loneliness and isolation that have come to be hallmarks of societies with fraying social fabrics.

Happy to have attended a tree planting event at Promenade Park, organized by Friends of the Rouge Watershed in early May. The Rouge Watershed is a 336-square-kilometre geographic area in Southern Ontario that stretches from the Oak Ridges Moraine in the north to Lake Ontario in the south, serving communities such as Markham, Richmond Hill, Pickering, and Scarborough. As Greater Toronto continues to develop into a region that rivals the greatest metropolises across the globe, it’s important that we preserve an ecological footprint that can anchor us. Development and expansion cannot come at the cost of parks that safeguard a baseline quality of life for residents of the 416, the 905, and beyond. There is a sensible middle path that we can carve at the intersection of frontier economic development and sustainable ecological preservation. We show our commitment to this middle path through everyday gestures, like planting trees; thank you to everyone who contributed towards a more sustainable future for our region.

It is beautiful to witness a vision being operationalized in real time and nowhere did I feel this more holistically than at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Lanting Garden, an ongoing project launched by the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto (CCCGT). At an immediate level, the Lanting Garden will be a 1.5-acre traditional Chinese garden that is meant to serve as a public green space for communities across the GTA. However, a second order effect of this gathering space is that it will act as a vibrant cultural hub – one that will celebrate Chinese heritage while fostering a deeper appreciation for our shared identity under a multicultural frame. Just as a campfire first brings us together through warmth before camaraderie ensues, so too will the Lanting Garden first exist as a communal hub before the cultural value-add emerges. I am especially proud of the partnership that our government has fostered with the CCCGT in transforming this project from concept to reality: $2.8 million was invested towards infrastructure improvements to make this possible. Thank you to the CCCGT for inviting me and congratulations to everyone whose tireless passion and commitment made this groundbreaking possible!

I have often heard permutations of a saying that goes something like this: society grows great when we plant trees whose shade we know we will never sit in. As I attended the 37th Annual Community Tree Planting Event last month, organized by 10,000 Trees on the Rouge, this saying echoed in my mind. This year, we gathered at the Milne Dam Conservation Park to celebrate the planting of the 250,000th tree in the organization’s history – it is in moments like these when community is truly made, when we lay the foundations for the generations to come. This entire project has been an unbroken clarion call over many years to recognize the importance of protecting our environment and wildlife, especially here in our beautiful country of Canada. A warm thank you to all the organizers and, of course, to the volunteers who showed up to make this event happen! Your hard work and passion for making our city greener have not gone unnoticed.

Back in February, I hosted the Hon. Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and my caucus colleagues at a roundtable discussion in Markham-Unionville regarding the Hong Kong Pathway program. Canada continues to uphold its humanitarian tradition, standing by the people of Hong Kong in support of their human rights and freedoms; equally, Canada will ensure that newcomers have the resources they need to succeed in their new lives from coast to coast to coast. The roundtable discussion provided us with the opportunity to listen and to engage in meaningful dialogue with members of the Toronto Hong Kong community. Our goal was to understand how best to support the community, ensuring that their voices were heard regarding the then-recent developments in the HK Pathways program. The bottom line is that the new public policy which took effect on May 27, 2024, will remain in place for five years to ensure applicants can extend their temporary status in Canada while processing of PR applications continues. Thank you to all of the community groups for having shared their experiences and those of their members; thank you, moreover, for having highlighted the challenges endured regarding PR processing times. As your Member of Parliament, I remain committed to supporting the people of Hong Kong in Canada and bringing your perspectives back to Ottawa.

May marks Asian Heritage Month in Canada, where we recognize the voices, the stories and the realizations of Canadians of Asian origin along with more than 230 years of contributions in all aspects of society. The Government of Canada is proud to contribute to the promotion of Asian heritage, and to support many of the celebrations organized across the country in honour of the diverse Asian communities that help shape Canadian identity. I attended two such celebrations over the course of May that I wanted to highlight. A few weeks ago, I attended the Government of Canada’s Asian Heritage Month celebration at the National Gallery of Canada. A welcoming reception prefaced a night of cultural performances that provided a rich sampling of Asia’s diverse cultures. It is only when we experience a culture through its embodied forms that we truly meet it in motion, as a participant, rather than as an observer. Yesterday, on the Hill, I spoke at the Launch of Taste of Asia and Asian Heritage Month Reception, hosted by the Federation of Chinese Canadians in Markham (FCCM). Mark your calendars for June 26 to 28 – that is when Taste of Asia is happening this year. Event by event, we add more patches to the Canadian mosaic, threading them together through our community participation. Happy Asian Heritage Month!

As our global trading environment undergoes dramatic shifts, it is mission critical for Canada to invest in its sovereign production capacity. Frontier use cases with blue ocean potential are where we need to double down, and the Government of Canada is showing immense foresight by focusing on access to space. By supporting companies that are threading AI into a domestically integrated production system geared toward sovereign launch capabilities, the government is charting a course for Canada to compete in the next frontier. As the MP for Markham–Unionville, I am thrilled to see local companies operating as advanced-manufacturing champions for Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy. yorkregion.com/globenewswire…

Looking back on Lunar New Year 2026, I am grateful to have celebrated at numerous events in Greater Toronto and on the Hill. From one gathering to the next, I was greeted with new faces and old friends alike, as we set aside time to welcome a period of renewal. As the Lunar Year progresses, I am reminded, time and time again, that community matters. Wishing you and your family great health and prosperity in the months ahead.

Excited to announce that our government is building a new community soccer pitch in Markham! This is part of a $2.165 million multi-year investment to build up to 25 pitches across Canada in collaboration with Canadian Tire JumpStart. The government’s investment follows the $755 million that has been allocated in the 2026 Spring Economic Update to Canadian Heritage in the pursuit of strengthening the national sport system. We are committed to making sports more accessible and to helping everyone experience the lifelong benefits of sport.

The canary in the coalmine for Canada in the ongoing global trade shifts has been, and continues to be, our auto sector. The entire Great Lakes region has operated for decades as a unified economic zone, which has now experienced a great division through the raising of tariff walls. With these existential threats to a core pillar of our economy, it is imperative that we take the necessary steps to protect domestic production and local jobs. Our government’s Spring Economic Update celebrates the launch of our Automotive Strategy, which primarily champions automotive investments and the protection of Canadian auto workers; the broader frame of the strategy is to align our national technological focus with the ongoing paradigm shift towards electrification. As the M.P. for Markham-Unionville, this issue resonates with me due to our riding’s longstanding participation in Ontario’s auto ecosystem – hosting world-class companies such as Honda and Tesla. Our government is taking a practical, common-sense approach to the changing world order, and the Auto Strategy is an embodiment of this grounded modus operandi.

Geopolitical disruptions and tariff shocks to the global supply chain have caused prices for everyday essentials to outpace the zone of affordability for everyday Canadians. I stood with Secretary of State Wayne Long when he announced the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB) several weeks back – an update to the GST Credit that will be rolled out on June 5th. When implemented: a family of four will receive up to $1,890 this year, and about $1,400 a year for the next four years; and a single person will receive up to $950 this year, and about $700 a year for the next four years. The CGEB is highlighted in our Spring Economic Update as a cornerstone of the government’s measures to prioritize cost of living concerns, amidst a fraying international order, alongside initiatives like the Food Security Fund and the Strategic Response Fund. Stay tuned for another deep dive tomorrow.

Last month, our government released its Spring Economic Update – the next step in our plan to build #CanadaStrong for all. As Canada navigates a fracturing world order, we are focused on shaping what we can control on the domestic front. Part and parcel of building a more resilient economy at home is setting a national agenda around foundational industries and sectors – one such core area of focus is Artificial Intelligence. We have released the 6 pillars of our National AI Strategy, something that I take pride in as a former CIO and as a member of the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology. I am proud to support a government that focuses on solutions, not division. Stay tuned for further deep dives on the Spring Economic Update.

Over the past month, I had the opportunity to partake in two Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day ceremonies. On May 5th, I attended one such ceremony on the Hill; yesterday, I joined all levels of Government at Albert Campbell Square, in Scarborough, to honour the 17th anniversary of the armed conflict’s end. On matters of genocide, silence is convenience – it is because it is uncomfortable that we must speak up. Who could have imagined in 2009, at the very high-water mark of Globalism, that our interconnected world would allow the Tamil Genocide to take place? We gathered to remember the lives lost, the families torn apart, the communities devastated, and those who remain missing to this day. It is our shared responsibility to remember; however, even more than that, it is our shared responsibility to understand what remembrance demands of us. In our remembrance, we are giving dignity to those who were deprived of it. In our remembrance, we are giving language to our grief. In our remembrance, most importantly, we resist forgetting – when forgetting would be so much easier. To the members of the Tamil Canadian community: thank you for allowing me to share in your moment of remembrance.

Happy Victoria Day! What does Canada mean to us? As we gather with friends and loved ones today, let us take the time to reflect on the roots of our enduring political institutions – a shared history and heritage codified into the country we call home. To everyone in Markham-Unionville and across Canada, I wish you and your family a joyful, safe, and memorable Victoria Day.