Canadian Parliament passes bill recognizing unjust internment of Ukrainians during World War I
OTTAWA - After eight years of intense work, Inky Mark, Conservative member of Parliament for Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette (Manitoba) realized his wish for Canada's Ukrainian community through the passage by unanimous consent of his private member's Bill C-331 - The Internment of Persons of Ukrainian Origin Recognition Act - in the House of Commons on November 24 and in the Senate the following day.
This bill became law when it received royal assent on November 25 from the governor general of Canada
Bill C-331 calls upon the federal government to acknowledge that thousands of Ukrainian Canadians were unjustly interned as "enemy aliens" and disenfranchised in Canada during World War I; to provide funding to commemorate the sacrifices made by these Canadians and; to develop educational materials detailing this dark period of Canada's history.
During the debate in the House of Commons, Mr. Mark said, "We know that, after two decades, it is time for the government to resolve this outstanding issue in the history of this country. This bleak event in Canadian history must be recognized and we, as a society, must learn from it. This is an issue of justice denied."
Speakers in favor of the bill at third reading were: Sarmite Bulte, parliamentary secretary to the minister of Canadian heritage; Meili Faille of the Bloc Québécois; MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis of the New Democratic Party; Joy Smith, Conservative MP Marlene Catterall, chair of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage; and Larry Bagnell, parliamentary secretary to the minister of natural resources.
Senators from all parties spoke in favor of the bill during the debate in the Senate. They included Terry Stratton, Vivian Poy, Marcel Prud'homme, Sharon Carstairs and Madeleine Plamondon.
MP Mark said: "I would be remiss if I didn't thank my colleagues from all parties in both the House of Commons and Senate for their hard work and determination to see this bill become law. Despite being on the eve of an election, both the House and Senate had the will and commitment to pass this important legislation."
"I am honored to have tabled Bill C-331 and equally honored to have been entrusted with this mission on behalf of Canada's Ukrainian community," Mr. Mark continued.
"The passage of C-331 demonstrates the mature Canada that people in this country expect. It makes a loud statement that Canada has grown up, that Canada can accept its past, learn from it and ensure that it is never repeated," he stated.
Commenting on this historic achievement, the chairman of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association, John Gregorovich, said:
"For many years Inky Mark has demonstrated his commitment to righting an historic wrong, the needless imprisonment of thousands of innocent Ukrainians and other Europeans during Canada's first national internment operations of 1914-1920. While many refused to accept what happened, or tried to ignore or dismiss its importance in Canadian history, Mr. Mark steadfastly insisted upon seeing justice done and today that goal has been achieved.
"We are all very grateful to him for his perseverance, for his commitment to human rights and civil liberties, and to those in all of the parties represented in the House of Commons and Senate of Canada who supported his efforts over the past few years, and during the last few days in particular.
"Now that Bill C-331 has been passed we hope the government of Canada will honor its pledge to recognize officially what happened to Ukrainian Canadians during this particularly unhappy episode in our country's past and to complete the negotiations on redress.
"Thankfully this bill was passed while the last known survivor of the internment operations, Mary Manko, is still alive and able to witness to this critical step forward toward closure and reconciliation."
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, December 18, 2005, No. 51, Vol. LXXIII
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