Hungarian Heritage Month Act, 2022, S.O. 2022, c. 6 - Bill 50

• Jurisdiction: Ontario
• Date: 11 April 2022
• Bill Number: 50

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Explanatory Note was written as a reader’s aid to Bill 50 and does not form part of the law. Bill 50 has been enacted as Chapter 6 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2022.

The Bill proclaims the month of October in each year as Hungarian Heritage Month.

chapter 6

An Act to proclaim Hungarian Heritage Month

Assented to April 11, 2022

Preamble

For over a century, Hungarian Canadians have made invaluable contributions to every sphere of life in Ontario — in the arts, business, industry, law, medicine, science, sports and technology. Hungarian immigrants began to arrive in Ontario in the early 20th century to work in Ontario’s steel industry, and to help build the Welland Canal. The Hungarian Self Culture Society of Welland celebrated its 100th anniversary this year. Other Hungarians escaped to Canada following the Nazi occupation of Hungary in 1944, including businessman and philanthropist Peter Munk.

Canada welcomed over 37,000 Hungarians following the Hungarian Uprising on October 23, 1956. They escaped communist tyranny, found refuge in Canada, and once again made important contributions across Ontario, including from the hundreds of young engineers from the University of Sopron who helped to build the forestry industry in northern Ontario. Thirty-three years later, Hungarians celebrated the collapse of the oppressive communist regime, as Hungary became a democratic parliamentary republic on October 23, 1989.

The architectural studio Hello Wood created an installation titled “Tunnel Through Time,” poignantly symbolizing the journey of these Hungarian refugees. The installation was first displayed in Budapest Park in Toronto and is now permanently located in Árpád Park in Niagara Falls. Composed of 37,565 pieces — one for each Hungarian refugee accepted into Canada following the uprising — it begins with a Hungarian flag with a hole in the middle, representing how the revolutionaries cut the communist coat of arms from the flag during the uprising. The installation then morphs into an exit shaped like a Canadian maple leaf.

Today Canada is home to over 350,000 people of Hungarian and Magyar descent, as well as Hungarian-speaking immigrants from other areas of Europe, including Transylvania. Nearly half live in Ontario, where they have made remarkable contributions to fields as diverse as accounting, cinematography, finance, government, music and statistical analysis. From Grammy and Juno Award-winning musician...