Statement - Minister Joly marks the 2018 Mid-Autumn Festival
OTTAWA, Sept. 24, 2018 /CNW/ - Today marks the annual Mid-Autumn Festival, an annual tradition in China and many East Asian communities in Canada and around the world that celebrates bountiful harvests and united families. With people-to-people ties between Canada and China growing stronger each year, it is a time for all of us to recognize and honour this tradition that remains so relevant today.
In that spirit, the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, issued the following statement:
"In much of Asia, and in our vibrant Chinese-Canadian communities, this festival is a time to join with family and close friends, to light lanterns and make mooncakes, to give thanks, and to look optimistically to the future.
"With roughly 1.8 million Canadians with Chinese heritage, many of us feel a profound sense of kinship and connection with China. This bond inspires us to explore each other's country, and culture. Our relationship has grown ever stronger in 2018 as both countries continue to mark the Canada-China Year of Tourism.
"In the first six months of this year, we welcomed more than 300,000 visitors from China. That's a nine-per-cent increase over the same period a year earlier. And we know hundreds of thousands of Canadians visit China each year.
"Tourism is a vital part of Canada's economy and we are committed to seeing the number of visitors from China to Canada double by 2021. I am confident that Canada's unique tourism experiences will help reach that goal, creating economic growth and good middle-class jobs in our communities from coast to coast to coast.
"But today, for those celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, this is a time to take a break from our fast-paced world. It's a time to pause and celebrate both the beauty and the symbolism of a moon in its full brilliance. And it is a time to celebrate the love of family, and to appreciate the abundance and sense of togetherness that members of both societies share."
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SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
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