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An act to establish International Mother Language Day (IMLD): Historic Bill S-214

March 30th, 2023, is a historic day for Canada and MLLWS. The Bill S-214 on International Mother Language Day (IMLD) was passed in the House of Commons in the Canadian Parliament. This is a significant achievement that would not have been possible without the continuous dedication and decades of hard work, determination, passion, and persistence by several individuals. It would not have been possible without the continuous dedication and hard work of MLLWS's current president, Mr. Aminul Islam who has worked tirelessly for over a decade with Senator Mobina S. B. Jaffer KC, MP Ken Hardie, MP John Aldag, MP Sukh Dhaliwal, the Government of Bangladesh, and the Bangladesh High Commission in Ottawa to make this happen. Initially, Mr. Aminul worked alone on these initiatives since 2007, and from 2012 he continued under the MLLWS banner after it was officially registered as a non-profit organization in the City of Surrey. The High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Canada, H.E. Dr. Khalilur Rahman, was present at the House of Commons during the discussion and passing of the bill.

Finally, on April 27, 2023, Bill S-214 has received royal assent. His Majesty, King Charles III, with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts the bill. This enactment designates the 21st day of February in each and every year as "International Mother Language Day." By adopting this bill, Canada will now officially honor IMLD on February 21 every year.

To respect and celebrate all mother languages, the late Mr. Rafiqul Islam, founding president of Mother Language Lovers of the World (MLLW), first proposed to The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to declare February 21st as International Mother Language Day (IMLD). In a letter to Kofi Annan, the then Secretary-General of the United Nations, on January 9, 1998, Mr. Rafiqul applied to commemorate the history of the Bengali nation's sacrifice for language and to wish all the mother languages of the world on February 21st as International Mother Language Day. In 1999, with the help of the Bangladesh Government and along with 29 other countries, including Canada, UNESCO unanimously agreed to observe International Mother Language Day on February 21st each year since 2000.

It was vital for Canada to officially observe this day as well, given the many languages that are disappearing with the passing of the last generation to speak to them. This includes the 104 indigenous languages spoken in Canada, with 28 in serious danger of disappearing. The Act has been introduced to celebrate and recognize the contribution of all languages, which are an essential part of Canada's living history.

There were several attempts to establish International Mother Language Day in Canada. The first one was through Bill C-407 on February 21, 2007, during the 39th Parliament. Honorable Sukh Dhaliwal MP for Newton—North Delta introduced the Private Members Bill C-407, entitled the “An Act respecting an International Mother Language Day,” in the Canadian Parliament. The proposed Act seeks to promote linguistic and cultural diversity in Canada by officially observing International Mother Language Day on February 21st every year. Unfortunately, it did not pass at that time.

Despite the setback, MLLWS of British Columbia continued their efforts. In 2017, Honorable John Aldag MP for Cloverdale-Langley City proposed the idea again and tabled it in the Canadian Parliament on February 21, 2017. He highlighted that February 21 is recognized by the global community as International Mother Language Day, a day to celebrate the linguistic heritage of peoples across the world that was recognized by UNESCO in 1999. This effort would not have been possible without the support of the Vancouver-based organization, the Mother Language Lovers of the World Society.

Following this, the MLLWS pushed the private bill with the help of Honorable MP John Aldag to the Canadian Senate, where it was presented as Bill S-247, also known as An Act to establish International Mother Language Day. Sponsored by Senator Mobina S. B. Jaffer, the bill passed its Introduction and First Reading on March 22, 2018, and its Second Reading on December 5, 2018. However, the bill was referred to the Standing Committee of Senate on Social Affairs, Science and Technology for further review but did not proceed.

A new bill, known as Bill S-214, was introduced in the Senate by Senator Mobina Jaffer on November 24, 2021, and later in the House of Commons by MP Ken Hardie on December 14, 2021. During the discussion, Members of Parliament from different parties expressed their support for the bill and emphasized the importance of language rights. The bill passed its third reading in both the Senate and the House of Commons. After being reviewed by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Bill S-214 on International Mother Language Day (IMLD) was passed in the House of Commons of the Canadian Parliament on March 30th, 2023.

The passing of the Bill S-214 has been met with gratitude and acknowledgement for the contributions of those who worked to make it a reality. We would like to thank our founding President, late Mr. Rafiqul Islam, and Mr. Abdus Salam, our current president Mr. Aminul Islam, Honorable Senator Mobina S. B. Jaffer KC, MP Ken Hardie, MP John Aldag, MP Sukh Dhaliwal, different MLAs, the Honorable Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Government, and the Bangladesh High Commission in Ottawa for their outstanding efforts and contributions in making this historic event happen. We are thrilled to see our efforts being recognized and celebrated in such meaningful ways. We see this as just the beginning, and we are excited to continue our work towards promoting and preserving mother languages in Canada and around the world. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all those who have supported us throughout this journey.

#InternationalMotherLanguageDay #CulturalDiversity #Multilingualism #Canada #LanguageLovers #S214 #MLLWS #MotherLanguageLovers #MotherLanguageLoversOfTheWorld #MotherLanguageLoversOfTheWorldSociety

Brief history of International Mother Language Day (IMLD)

To love, observe and conserve all mother languages of the world, the pioneer late Mr. Rafiqul Islam (1950-2013) coined the day 21st February as International Mother Language Day (IMLD), because on that day a group of Bangalee people sacrificed their lives for their mother language during the Bangla Language Movement in 1952.

To respect and celebrate all mother languages, Mr Islam first proposed to UNESCO to declare the day 21st February as IMLD. In 1999, with the help of Banladesh and along with 29 countries including Canada, the UNESCO eventually proclaim the day as IMLD. Since 2000, the day is being celebrated globally to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity. Mr. Rafiqul Islam is called the Father of IMLD. He was a Bangaldeshi Canadian used to live in Surrey, BC; a Freedom Fighter during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971 and the Founding President of Mother Language Lovers Of The World Society, BC.

On 9th January 1998, Mr. Rafiqul Islam wrote a letter to Mr. Kofi Annan requesting him to take a step for saving all mother languages around the world from the possibility of extinction and to proclaim the IMLD. On 23rd January, on behalf of Secretary General Kofi Annan, Mr. Hasan Ferdous, Officer-in-Charge, Public Inquiries Unit, Department of Public Information first responded and advised Mr. Rafiq to propose the issue from any member country of the United Nations.

At this point Mr. Rafiqul Islam and his colleague Mr. Abdus Salam founded an organization called, the “Mother Language Lovers of the World” with a group of various mother language speakers and from that organization they wrote to Mr. Kofi Annan for the second time on March 29, 1998.

On 8th April 1998, Ms. Anna Maria Majlof, Programme Specialist, Languages Division (ED), provided the addresses of the National Commissions for UNESCO for five member countries (Canada, India, Hungary, Finland and Bangladesh) and advised Mr. Rafiqul Islam to place the request formally from those countries.

Ms. Maria also noted that the proposal for the declaration of an “International Day” must imperatively be submitted to UNESCO’s Executive Board for adoption, which meets twice a year. The document, if adopted, will then be presented to UNESCO’s General Conference will take place at UNESCO HQ this year in November/December.

On 16th August 1999, the Hungerian National Commissions for UNESCO for the first time responded and replied back to UNESCO Paris and supported the idea of declaring 21st February as IMLD. On 9th September 1999, the Bangladesh National Commissions for UNESCO faxed the supporting proposal to the UNESCO Paris, that was the last day of submitting the proposal to UNESCO for the 30th Annual General Conference. Meanwhile, 29 countries were able to support the proposal to table the issue in the AGM.

On 16th November 1999, the proposal was placed as an agenda in the AGM. On 17th November 1999, the proposal was raised in the AGM, supported by 188 countries, not opposed by a single country, and passed as a decision.