Speaking notes - Speaking notes for the Honourable Jason Kenney, P.C., M.P. Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism to mark the 75th anniversary of 1932-33 famine in the Ukraine

Kyiv, Ukraine, November 22, 2008

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Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

On behalf of the Government of Canada, and as Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, I am honoured to join you.

Today, we mark the 75th anniversary of Holodomor – the brutal famine which, between 1932 and 1933, killed millions.

At a commemorative ceremony held one year ago in Canada for the victims of Holodomor, Canada’s Prime Minister, Stephen Harper spoke about the tyranny of past communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe.

Prime Minister Harper said this

“Between the two world wars and the long cold war that followed, apologists tried to persuade us that the ideology of communism was benign. They said we should be neutral towards it – “an honest broker.” They said we should learn to live with it – that we had nothing to fear from the Soviet Empire.

Canadians knew better. So we took a stand. We stood for freedom and fundamental human rights. We stood against oppression in Ukraine. We stood with its brave people, and those of the other captive nations of Central and Eastern Europe.”

To support the Prime Minister’s comments, Canada has taken action.

First, Canada’s Parliament this year unanimously passed a bill to establish a Ukrainian Famine and Genocide Memorial Day and to recognize the Ukrainian Famine of 1932–33 as an act of genocide. Today, November 22, marks the first such commemorative day in Canada.

As well, last year at UNESCO, Canada proudly co-sponsored the government of Ukraine’s motion to honour the millions who perished in the famine and to acknowledge that their deaths were caused by the brutal dictatorship of Josef Stalin.

The Government of Canada is committed to remembering the victims and heightening international awareness of genocide. We take such actions to help ensure that similar atrocities never happen again.

That is because our Government is committed to preserving and enhancing understanding of the value and dignity of all human beings, not only in our own country, but around the world.

Establishing a memorial day and recognizing the Holodomor as an act of genocide expresses the fundamental values that Canadians embrace: democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.

It also honours the more than one million Canadians of Ukrainian descent who have played an important role in building our society, taking great pride in both their traditional heritage and their adopted home.

These people have enriched our country with their skills, knowledge, and talents for decades, and Canadian society continues to benefit greatly from their contribution.

At the same time, they have been instrumental in fostering the special kinship that exists between Canada and the Ukraine.

Before I close, I would like to thank two organizations that have made special contributions to this relationship: the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and Canadian Friends of Ukraine. Through their collective efforts, they have made Canadians aware of the atrocities of Holodomor.

I also wish to acknowledge one Canadian of Ukrainian descent—Senator Raynell Andreychuk, who has joined me on this trip. Senator Andreychuk has been active in our parliament’s Upper House, urging recognition of the Ukrainian famine as an act of genocide.

And I would like to thank James Bezan, the Member of Parliament for Selkirk-Interlake, who introduced the bill in the Canadian parliament to mark this commemorative day.

Ladies and gentlemen, by helping people in my country to remember the victims of this horrible famine, we will remind them that they should never take for granted their responsibility to the world or the need to prevent similar atrocities from being repeated.

Thank you again, for joining us on this important occasion.