EDITORIAL: Still waiting for redress (04/29/01)

EDITORIAL

Still waiting for redress

Member of Parliament Inky Mark, a Canadian of Chinese descent who represents Dauphin-Swan River, Manitoba, a district with a significant Ukrainian population, has introduced Bill C-331, a private member's bill that seeks justice for Ukrainians who were interned in special camps in Canada during World War I.

With the outbreak of World War I, the War Measures Act (1914) was implemented, resulting in the internment of 8,579 "enemy aliens" - more than 5,000 of them Ukrainians who had emigrated to Canada from territories under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. According to information on the internment operations that appears on Mr. Mark's website: "These internees were used to develop Canadian infrastructure as forced laborers. They were used to develop Banff National Park, the logging industry in Northern Ontario and Quebec, the steel mills in Ontario and Nova Scotia, and in the mines in British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia. This infrastructure development program benefited Canadian corporations to such a degree that the internment was carried on for two years after the end of World War I."

Called the Ukrainian Canadian Restitution Act, Mr. Mark's bill seeks to, first of all, recognize the injustice done to persons of Ukrainian descent and other Europeans who were interned at the time of World War I, as well as to provide for public commemoration and for restitution via education and promotion of tolerance.

"The internment of so many Ukrainian people as ordered by the government of Canada is one of Canada's darkest moments," says Mr. Mark, who has worked on this issue since his election in 1997. He underlines that he merely wants to do the right thing - unlike two prime ministers from two different parties, Conservative Brian Mulroney and Liberal Jean Chrétien, who have not seen the importance of doing that. Mr. Mark is supported by the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association, which has been leading the charge for redress for nearly 14 years.

Yes, 14 years.

After years of stonewalling by Prime Minister Mulroney, it seemed the issue would quickly be resolved with the election of the Liberals. After all, as Opposition leader, Mr. Chrétien had stated in a June 8, 1993, letter that if the Liberal Party was elected he would "continue to monitor the [redress] situation closely and seek to ensure that the government honors its promise." Eight years later Ukrainian Canadians are still waiting for Prime Minister Chrétien to keep his promise.

Paul Jackson, associate editor of the Calgary Sun, writing on April 15 commented: "One wonders why Chrétien hasn't lived up to his 1993 promise. Instead, like politicians before him, he appears to want to sweep this piece of history under the table."

According to Prof. Lubomyr Luciuk, research director of the UCCLA, Bill C-331 would not cost taxpayers "one red cent." The bill simply asks that the money confiscated from internees "be tallied up and used to place memorial plaques at all 24 concentration camp sites across the country." In addition, there is a proposal to establish a permanent museum in Banff National Park, the site of two camps, and to prepare and distribute educational materials on the internment of Ukrainians to Canadian schools. There is no provision for direct compensation to the victims of the internment operation as, sadly, most of them have long ago passed on.

Among the groups supporting Bill C-331 is the Ukrainian Canadian Congress-Alberta Provincial Council (UCC-APC) which is urging UCC National, all other provincial councils and all local branches to express their support. A resolution adopted by the UCC-APC notes: "To ensure that this unfortunate episode in Canada's history is not forgotten, so that no other Canadian ethnic, religious or racial minority ever suffers as ours once did, we wholeheartedly endorse Mr. Mark's proposed act, and call upon MPs of all parties represented in the House of Commons ... to call for a vote on Bill C-331, and to join us in endorsing it. Doing so would resolve the Ukrainian Canadian community's calls for acknowledgment and restitution in a timely and honorable fashion."

What can readers do? Ukrainian Canadians should contact their MPs to make them aware of Bill C-331 and to stress that they expect their representatives to support the measure when it comes up for a vote in the House of Commons. In addition, readers should contact the prime minister to underline that Canadians see this issue as worthy of attention - and just resolution. Eight years of waiting is quite enough.

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