UCCLA announces ceremony to unveil plaque in Toronto (04/19/98)

UCCLA announces ceremony to unveil plaque in Toronto

by Borys Sydoruk

CALGARY - The Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association announced on March 5 that a trilingual plaque recalling Canada's first national internment operations and, in particular, the Stanley Barracks receiving station, will be installed on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto this fall.

Working in cooperation with CNE staff, a local UCCLA activist, Ross Bobak, has finished negotiating the details with respect to the location and text of this plaque, which will be the 10th such marker unveiled by the UCCLA. At present, plans call for a plaque unveiling ceremony on Friday, October 2.

Commenting on this development, UCCLA Chairman John B. Gregorovich, said: "We have managed to install eight plaques commemorating this injustice, two in British Columbia, three in Alberta, two in Ontario and one in Manitoba. We intend to unveil another in Winnipeg this fall. In three years, without government support, our community has managed to ensure that the memory of this unfortunate episode in Canadian history is never forgotten."

He added, "We intend to continue until every one of the 24 concentration camp sites has been plaqued and we have secured Ottawa's acknowledgement of this injustice, along with a restitution of that part of the internees' confiscated wealth which was never returned. Those funds, we hope, will be used to further educate the public about the Ukrainian experience in Canada."