Plaque to mark internment site near Sicamous, British Columbia (05/26/02)

Plaque to mark internment site near Sicamous, British Columbia

VANCOUVER - During Canada's first national internment operations of 1914-1920, thousands of Ukrainians and other Europeans were needlessly imprisoned as "enemy aliens" in Canadian concentration camps. Seven out of the 24 internment camps established following passage of the War Measures Act were located in British Columbia, including the Monashee-Mara Lake camps, which operated between June 2, 1915, and July 29, 1917.

As a result of the efforts of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association, supported by the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko and the Ukrainian Canadian community of British Columbia, a trilingual historical marker will be unveiled at the original site of the camp, Two Mile, near Sicamous, British Columbia, on Saturday, June 8, at 12:30 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.

Commenting on this project, the UCCLA's local representative, Andrea Malysh, said: "In times of domestic and international crisis, the civil liberties and human rights of ethnic, religious and racial minorities have sometimes been tragically ignored. In Canada, the passage of the War Measures Act in 1914 resulted in the rounding up and internment of thousands of innocent Ukrainians and other Europeans, men, women and children who had done no wrong but who were imprisoned only because of where they had come from. Forced to do heavy labor, what little wealth they had confiscated, they were subjected to various other state-sanctioned censures, including restrictions on their freedom of movement, association and speech. Many were disenfranchised, and some were deported following the war."

"This unhappy episode in Canadian history must be recalled if we are to ensure that what happened to Ukrainian Canadians in the first world war period, and to our fellow Japanese Canadians in the second world war, and to some citizens of Quebec in 1970, does not happen again," Ms. Malysh stated. "This is particularly important in the wake of the horrors that befell our society on September 11. While we must remain vigilant as we prosecute our war against terrorism, we can not allow our societies to become vigilantes when dealing with Canadians of other ethnic and religious backgrounds. Canada is an inclusive society and must remain that way. Recalling this tragic past is a step we can all take to ensure that wrongs done in the past are not repeated in our future."

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