YEREVAN, MAY 19, ARMENPRESS. Chairman of the Central Council of Armenian National Committee Hakob Ter-Khachatryan says nearly 80.000 Armenians live in Canada. According to him, Armenians are actively involved in various fields, including the political life.

“We had an MP, we have active involvement in the government of the cities. For instance, in Montreal, where 4.5 million people live, and Armenians there are 25.000, we have 3 Armenians in the City Council, the one of which is the Deputy Mayor”, he said.

He says the Armenians of Canada have succeeded in various fields. For instance, director Atom Egoyan is very famous within cultural sphere. He is one of the best directors of Canada. Musician Peter Unjyan is also very famous in Canada.

There are many Armenian unions, youth organizations in Canada. Ter-Khachatryan says all necessary conditions exist in Canada for preserving and developing the Armenian language and culture.

“I can say that the Armenian community of Canada is one of the best communities which managed to preserve and develop its language and culture. We have daily Armenian schools which we keep with a large sacrifice. They are private, not public. Parents annually pay $5.000 USD for each child which is a huge money. Meanwhile, if they go to the public schools, they will not pay. We welcome that many Armenians still understand the meaning of preserving the mother language. I am happy to say that our school in Montreal has more that thousand pupils, and school in Toronto has 600 pupils. Overall, we can say that nearly 2.500 children study in the Armenian schools of Canada”, he stated.

Referring to the Syrian-Armenians who came to Canada as a result of the Middle Eastern events Hakob Ter-Khachatryan stated that the Armenian community of Canada helps Syrian-Armenians as much as it can.

“According to our data, nearly 4.000 Syrian-Armenians live in Canada as a refugee. When they arrive, we with personal initiative or with the help of guarantors provide them all types of assistance, such as material assistance, completion of documents. We organize reception for them in the Centers. Moreover, education in the Armenian schools is free for Syrian-Armenians”, Hakob Ter-Khachatryan concluded.