In a surprise move, Canadian ministry awards funding to Spirit Lake Corp.

TORONTO - The Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association responded with concern on October 24 following a Media Release issued on October 9 by the Ministry of Canadian Heritage, announcing $200,000 in federal funding to the Spirit Lake Camp Corp. for the purposes of developing an interpretive center at the site of a First World War internment camp near Amos, in north-central Quebec.

Dr. Lubomyr Luciuk, director of research for the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association said: "We were surprised by this announcement as we have been negotiating, for nearly a year, with the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Sheila Copps, and senior members of her staff, as well as representatives from Parks Canada and the Canadian War Museum. None of them, at any time, gave us any indication that another group had made application for such funding, nor did they deliberate with us over how this project, obviously relevant to our discussions, would fit in with our own slate of commemorative and educational initiatives. Of course, we are pleased to learn that the ministry is prepared to finance a center at Spirit Lake.

Dr. Luciuk explained that the UCCLA has worked in the past with members of the Spirit Lake Camp Corporation, placing a trilingual plaque there in 1999 and a statue, "Interned Madonna," in 2001. "However, we are concerned about the phrasing of the government's announcement, which ignores the fact that the majority of those interned were Ukrainians, which represents them as prisoners of war or refugees when in fact they were civilians, unjustly interned not because of anything they had done but only because of where they had come from and who they were."

Dr. Luciuk also said the UCCLA is "deeply troubled by the suggestion that the site might be used for artistic or recreational purposes. This was a Canadian concentration camp where innocent people, men, women and children, were incarcerated under very trying conditions and forced to do heavy labor. Many suffered considerably."

The last known survivor of Canada's first national internment operations, Mary Manko Haskett, was a child when she was interned; her younger sister, Nellie, died as a result of the poor conditions at Spirit Lake." This place is not suitable for development as anything other than a commemorative museum facility," said Dr. Luciuk.

The UCCLA leader pointed out that "plans have been made to protect the Spirit Lake internees' cemetery, which is reportedly located on private property and is certainly in a state of disintegration. We believe this cemetery is a national historic site and should be designated as such, then protected. The remains of the Ukrainian Canadian internees found there must be treated with respect. For the federal government to not ensure that is unconscionable. We hope these serious issues will soon be addressed by the minister or her representatives."

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, December 21, 2003, No. 51, Vol. LXXI

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