FOR THE RECORD: Statement by Conservative Party leader (04/03/05)

FOR THE RECORD: Statement by Conservative Party leader

Below is the text of a statement by Member of Parliament Stephen Harper, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, on Bill C-331 delivered in the House of Commons on March 24.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address an important and dark chapter in Canadian history.

I am pleased to give my support for Bill C-331. Bill C-331 is an act to recognize the injustice that was done to persons of Ukrainian descent and other Europeans who were interned at the time of the first world war. It is to provide for public commemoration and for redress which is to be devoted to public education and the promotion of tolerance.

Please allow me to begin by first recognizing the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and in particular, Prof. Lubomyr Luciuk for their tireless efforts to promote awareness of the internment of Ukrainian Canadians during the first world war. Without their efforts, we would likely not be having this debate today in Parliament. And, unfortunately, without their advocacy, this chapter of Canadian history would be largely forgotten today.

I would like to thank my colleague, the Conservative member of Parliament from Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette [Inky Mark], I thank him for bearing the torch for redress of this historic wrong, And for his leadership in working to finally close this painful chapter of Canadian history for the descendants of those Canadians who were unjustly interned several generations ago.

Finally I must also thank Joy Smith, our Conservative Member from Kildonan-St. Paul, who gave up her time today, allowing me to speak on this subject and who has done a lot of work in support of Bill C-331.

Between 1914 and 1920, Canada witnessed its first internment operations under the War Measures Act. Thousands of loyal Canadians were systematically arrested and interned in 24 camps throughout our country. Simply because of their national origin, nearly 9000 Canadians were interned - the vast majority of Ukrainian origin. At the outset of the first world war, western Ukraine was occupied by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Canada was at war with Austria-Hungary. In the midst of wartime hysteria, everyone with a connection to Austria-Hungary was wrongly deemed a threat to our country.

Ironically, in this case, many thousands of Ukrainian Canadians had actually fled the occupying power in their homeland. A knowledgeable assessment of the situation could have only led to one conclusion: These refugees of Canada's wartime enemy were not enemies of Canada. They were new, loyal British subjects, and allies of our wartime cause.

In fact, in 1915, the British Foreign Office twice instructed Ottawa to grant Ukrainians "preferential treatment," arguing that they were to be considered "friendly aliens" rather than "enemy aliens," yet the dominion government would not change its course. Moreover, many of those interned were not just naturalized British subjects, but were Canadian citizens, born in Canada, but bearing the wrong last name or the wrong parentage; even children were interned.

Throughout the internment operation, the civilian internees were transported to Canada's frontier hinterlands, where they were forced to perform hard labor under trying circumstances. Some sites that we all know well today include Banff and Jasper national parks and the experimental farms at Kapuskasing, first developed by this pool of forced labor.

As Ukrainian Canadians were being interned for having been unfortunate enough to enter this country with Austro-Hungarian documents, other Ukrainian Canadians who had entered Canada on different foreign documents were serving Canada loyally in overseas battle. Let us not forget Ukrainian Canadian war veteran, Filip Konowal, who was awarded the Victoria Cross by King George V for his brave wartime service - a Ukrainian Canadian honored, while his fellow neighbors were wondering why they had chosen Canada to be their new home.

Mr. Speaker, we know we cannot re-write history. We cannot change the fact that an injustice occurred. Only those who carried out this injustice can truly held accountable and only those who themselves suffered injustice can be properly compensated. But, as heirs of our society and its institutions, we can acknowledge injustice, appreciate the lessons of history and make amends where appropriate.

It is time to make amends. If Bill C-331 is allowed to pass, it will be the first official acknowledgement that Canada's treatment of Ukrainian Canadians during the first world war was wrong. It will be the first time that a promise - made many times over by Canada's political leaders - will be kept.

Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien had repeatedly promised to officially recognize the internment operations, but he failed to deliver while in office. Former Heritage Minister Sheila Copps had similarly promised to give official recognition to this historic injustice, but also failed to act when elected to the government benches.

It is time to put this matter to rest.

By passing Bill C-331, we will finally take a step to acknowledge the injustice of the past - an injustice that would never be allowed to be committed today in this great country, which reveres our freedoms and the rule of law.

So far, the Ukrainian Canadian community has placed memorial plaques at almost all of the internment sites, except for five, to remind Canadians of what happened at those locations, so that this sad chapter of our history may never be repeated.

Many official documents and archival files were destroyed in the early 1950s, but slowly material has been re-surfacing - again - thanks to many academics of Ukrainian Canadian heritage that have been resolved to keep alive our collective memory of these historical events. We must go further and officially recognize these events as a historical wrong. The last remaining survivor of these internment operations, Mary Haskett, is still alive. She will be turning 97 this summer. I sincerely hope that she will live to see an official reconciliation of this past injustice.

I urge all of my colleagues in this House to join me in support of Bill C-331.

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