PAUL, Alberta – Members of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation (UCCLF) and its activist counterpart, the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association (UCCLA), on September 28 in St. Paul, Alberta, unveiled Canada’s newest monument dedicated to remembering the country’s first national internment operations in the years 1914-1920.
Titled “21 Strands,” the monument is unique, comprising not just a trilingual (English-French-Ukrainian) educational plaque, but also an image of internees standing behind 21 horizontal lengths of Canadian barbed wire. The design is by Amil Shapka, a resident of St. Paul who spearheaded the efforts to erect this monument in his hometown.