Multimillion dollar grant from Ottawa recognizes First World War internment
Ukrainian Canadians closed a painful chapter in their community's history Friday as the federal government announced a $10 million grant to recognize the internment of Eastern European immigrants in Canadian work camps during the First World War.
The money is going into an endowment fund that will allow the community to better educate Canadians about the forced labour camps.
"After more than two decades of community pressure and a string of broken political promises, the troubling issue of Ukrainian internment during World War One has finally been resolved," said Oleh Gerus, vice president of the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko, the Winnipeg-based foundation that will administer the funds.
"I guess we can say it's about time."
The internment lasted from 1914-1920 and mostly affected immigrants and new Canadians with Eastern European heritage. Thousands of people were stripped of their possessions and forced into work camps while thousands more were labelled enemy aliens and were required to report regularly to police.
"Canada's past includes actions which are inconsistent with the values Canadians hold dear today," said Treasury Board President Vic Toews in a Winnipeg speech Friday to several dozen representatives from the Ukrainian Canadian community.
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The money is going into an endowment fund that will allow the community to better educate Canadians about the forced labour camps.
"After more than two decades of community pressure and a string of broken political promises, the troubling issue of Ukrainian internment during World War One has finally been resolved," said Oleh Gerus, vice president of the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko, the Winnipeg-based foundation that will administer the funds.
"I guess we can say it's about time."
The internment lasted from 1914-1920 and mostly affected immigrants and new Canadians with Eastern European heritage. Thousands of people were stripped of their possessions and forced into work camps while thousands more were labelled enemy aliens and were required to report regularly to police.
"Canada's past includes actions which are inconsistent with the values Canadians hold dear today," said Treasury Board President Vic Toews in a Winnipeg speech Friday to several dozen representatives from the Ukrainian Canadian community.