(CPV) – “Thanks to the great contribution of the overseas Vietnamese community in the last several years, the culture of Canada is richer and more diversified,” said Mr Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism of Canada on the occasion of the lunar New Year 2012.

The Ministry has presented the 2011 Paul Yuzyk Awards for the Vietnamese Canadian Centre (VCC) in the nation, hoping that the Centre will continue to promote cultural activities for the common development of multiculturalism in Canada.

Statistics show that the overseas Vietnamese community in Canada is one of the country’s youngest immigrant communities, but quite sizeable with around 250,000 people, ranking 5th on the list of non European origin communities, after Chinese, Indian, Filipino and Jamaican.

About 96% live in Ontario, Québec, British Columbia and Alberta. In which, the community in Ontario is the biggest, making up 46% of the total. Overseas Vietnamese people work in fabrication factories, as well as retails shops and restaurants.

The living standard of overseas Vietnamese in Canada is the same as in the US, but more stable. They have established many organizations such as overseas Vietnamese Union (in 1980), Vietnamese Canadian Centre (in 1987), and other overseas Vietnamese Associations in Toronto, Vancouver and Québec.

In this large country with diverse ethnic groups and cultures, Dai Tong Lam Tam Bao Son Buddhism Cultural Centre is located at Highway117, Harrington Town, Quebec (140 kilometers from the capital, Ottawa).

Inaugurated in 1988, the biggest ever Vietnamese Buddhism Cultural Centre covers 337 hectares of hills, streams, forest and large expanses of grassland. Its main library has over 50,000 books, luring thousands of readers to study and do research. Currently, the centre plays a vital role in bringing together the overseas Vietnamese community in Canada, with no discrimination of ethnicity, career, political opinion, or living standards./.