Speech on Bill S-211: An Act to Establish International Mother Language Day

On March 30, 2021 Senator Omidvar spoke to Bill S-211, an Act to establish International Mother Language Day. Watch her speech:

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Honourable senators, I will speak on Senator Jaffer’s proposed Bill S-211 to establish an International Mother Language Day on February 21 of each and every year.

I will add to the remarks made by Senator Jaffer and Senator Ataullahjan by noting that language, after all, is the soul of a culture and people. Our Canadian soul is in a multilingual overdrive. Many of us speak more than one language. In the Senate Chamber, we frequently switch between Canada’s two official languages, English and French. But English and French, as we know from our other speakers, are not the only two languages spoken in Canada. There are more than 70 Indigenous languages. Sadly, many of these languages run the risk of being forgotten.

In addition, close to a quarter of Canadians have a mother tongue other than English or French. After English and French, the six languages spoken most widely are Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog and Arabic. An incredible 215 different languages were reported by Canadians as their mother tongue. This diversity of language speaks to the overwhelming diversity of Canadians, because Canada is a nation of many cultures who have made their way here from every corner of the globe.

As an immigrant myself, I can speak to the important role that different languages have played throughout my life. I was born in multilingual India, so I acquired Punjabi, English, Hindi and a smattering of Urdu naturally. Others I acquired through a disciplined course, like German. Some I learned on the go, picking up bits here and there in order to survive in a new country, like Farsi in Iran. By the time I arrived in Canada, it was natural for me to speak in one language and think in yet another.

I have come to understand that the language you speak releases a different aspect of your personality. When I speak Urdu, it is automatic for me to become more elegant, more deferential and more courteous because that is the nature of the language. When I speak German — less and less fluently, I must admit — I have to struggle to be precise. And when I speak Farsi, I am reminded that some languages have an innate hospitality ingrained in them because a cup of tea will soon follow. Sadly, very sadly, I speak no French, but I know that if I did, I would find an inner elegance of style, as I see it spoken by Senator Gagné, Senator Cormier and my other colleagues in the Senate. But it is when I speak Hindi at home with my mother that I become her child again, and find my centre as she gently corrects the many mistakes that I am likely to make.

As more and more of us speak a language other than our mother tongue, a day that is set aside to reflect and think of our identity, roots and culture through our mother language is a beautiful idea. Whether we landed in Canada last year or our ancestors have lived here since time immemorial, recognizing our mother tongue is central to who we are.

The fact that so many of us speak more than one language is indeed something to be celebrated. Thank you, Senator Jaffer, for your tireless advocacy in support of language diversity in Canada. I urge all honourable senators to vote to send this bill to committee as soon as possible. Thank you.