Ottawa - June 2016 was a historic month for Italian-Canadians, featuring the first ever Canada-Italy Day on Parliament Hill, organized by the Chair of the Canada-Italy Interparliamentary Group, Francesco Sorbara, Member of Parliament for Vaughan-Woodbridge, and the Canada-Italy Interparliamentary team. The occasion was hosted in the Speaker’s Lounge on June 15, 2016 and was attended by hundreds of people including Members of Parliament, Senators, dignitaries from Quebec and Ontario, and his Excellency Gian-Lorenzo Cornado, Italy's Ambassador to Canada.

“The response to Canada-Italy Day was overwhelming and the feedback unanimously positive. Canada-Italy Day on the Hill celebrated the invaluable economic and cultural contributions of Italian-Canadians. It also recognizes the strong ties and enduring friendship between Italy and Canada. We plan to make Canada-Italy Day an annual event.” said MP Francesco Sorbara

The month also marked an official parliamentary effort to have June declared Italian Heritage Month. MP Sorbara has seconded and endorsed a motion introduced by his Liberal caucus colleague Deb Schulte, MP for King-Vaughan, which will officially recognize June as National Italian Heritage Month.

“I’m proud to co-sponsor and support my friend and neighbour Deb as she introduces the motion” said MP Sorbara, who represents a community with the largest concentration of Italians in Canada. “I’m very hopeful that the motion will pass this Session with the support of the Canada-Italy Interparliamentary Group, the Liberal-Italian Caucus and other Members of Parliament.”

In addition to Canada-Italy Day, MP Sorbara attended events celebrating Italian Heritage Month in Ontario including the Italian Contemporary Film Festival and flag-raising ceremonies at Queen's Park and the City of Vaughan.