May 18, 2018

Lieutenant governor of Quebec to visit internment interpretative center

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Circa 1915, internees at Spirit Lake used as forced labor clearing land. From the documentary “Freedom Had A Price.”

LA FERME, Quebec – J. Michael Doyon, the 29th lieutenant governor of Quebec, will visit Spirit Lake Internment Interpretative Center on May 20. Lt. Gov. J. Michael Doyon will view first-hand the award-winning museum, which has attracted over 40,000 visitors from all over Quebec, Canada and Europe. 

Spirit Lake Center is uniquely located on the original grounds of the second largest internment site during Canada’s First National Internment Operations 1914-1920, in which 1,200 men, women and children were unjustly interned, the majority being Ukrainians, many taken from Montreal and other areas. The internment center at Spirit Lake operated in 1915-1917, with internees then transferred to other internment sites. Today, the center’s museum, open all year, depicts the internment story and early history of Ukrainian immigration to Quebec.

For this special visit, the board of directors of Sprit Lake has invited the regional minister and the deputies from the districts of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, as well as the municipal authorities of the County of Abitibi, the municipality of Trecesson (La Ferme) and the City of Amos.

 The lieutenant governor of Quebec will highlight the 20th anniversary this year of the creation of Camp Spirit Lake Corporation, which coordinates the work of Spirit Lake Center and the largest internment museum in Canada, with its educational workshops and outreach programs. This year, Spirit Lake Internment Interpretative Center (SLIIC) marks the center’s eighth year of operation, welcoming visitors, teachers and students throughout Quebec and beyond. 

Spirit Lake Center/museum is a winner of two Quebec awards. Spirit Lake museum has caught the public’s attention in Quebec and beyond.

 The first months of 2018 have seen a flurry of activities for Spirit Lake Center. At the end of March, a three-person TV crew from Montreal came to Spirit Lake to film for France’s Channel Evasion. A program on Spirit Lake internment museum, the history of the site and of Ukrainian immigration will be aired in France and in Quebec.

In April, a freelance journalist for Le Devoir visited Spirit Lake to do an article for the weekend edition/tourist section of the French-language newspaper. The article will highlight the uniqueness of the internment museum in Quebec, and the history of Ukrainian immigration to Quebec and Canada. The journalist was presented with the French-language version of the documentary “Ukrainians in Quebec 1891-1945,” which features a section on Spirit Lake internment.

 The 2018 summer tourist season officially begins June 24. Over 40,000 have visited the internment center/museum, and that number is growing, with visitors from all parts of Canada, the United States and Europe. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the amalgamated region of Trecesson, where Spirit Lake Internment Center is located. The center continues with its free loan of donated bicycles, offering the bikes located in front of the center for tourists to explore the area around Spirit Lake Internment Center, the lake and lush forests where internees once labored. 

 In Quebec, four French-language books have been published about Spirit Lake, one musical work has been composed and many student essays have been written – all inspired by the internment story. The center offers classroom visits, providing volunteer instructors to schools, conducting information seminars to the five school commissions in the Abitibi area. This includes elementary and high schools. Classes later visit Spirit Lake Internment Center from all over Quebec and neighboring provinces. 

Post-high school classes incorporate regional history and heritage studies covering the history of World War I, its effect on society and cultural heritage. Teaching about the internment is included in their courses. The documentaries “Ukrainians in Quebec 1891-1945” (French and English versions), and Yurij Luhovy’s “Freedom Had A Price” are used as teacher resource material.

For further information readers may visit www.campspiritlake.ca or call 819-727-2267.

Spirit Lake Center continues its hard work with its many volunteers, bringing awareness about early history to the general public. Spirit Lake Center received a major grant from the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund, chaired by Andrew Hladyshevsky, to help establish the center. 

As James Slobodian, chair of Camp Spirit Lake Corporation, stated, “Spirit Lake is Montreal’s, Quebec’s and Canada’s story. The museum has a tremendous impact on internment awareness.”