Parliament has officially set aside one week every year to recognize Mennonite heritage. While that may sound like a “Daily Bonnet” article, Steinbach’s satirical writer himself is of two minds on the issue.

Daily Bonnet Creator Andrew Unger says the Member of Parliament for Portage-Lisgar directly referenced several of his articles as MPs discussed the possibility of introducing the Mennonite Heritage Week.

“When I started the website I never imagined anybody reading my stuff in the house of commons,” states a bewildered Unger.

Though Unger is honored that his work was used as a symbol of Mennonite humor during a political dialogue, he is less enthused about the idea of the special week itself.

“I would say I have conflicted feelings about it,” he comments.

On one hand, Unger believes it is good to recognize all that the people group has done for the country, on the other, he fears that an honorary week prescribed by the state infringes on the Mennonite's historical separation between church and state. Unger also believes the definition of a Mennonite means many different things to many different people and is unsure of whom exactly the week would be celebrating.

Nevertheless, as it now stands, the second week of September has been deemed “Mennonite Heritage Week”.

While other regions may take this new opportunity to dive into Mennonite culture, Unger does not expect to see a huge change locally. He feels Steinbach is already doing a great job of commemorating their ancestry with events like the Pioneer Days.

“In a place like Steinbach I think it might be business as usual,” offers Unger, “yes, we will be eating schmaunfat that week, but that’s just like the rest of the year.”