MP Gets Award at Dauphin

Inky Mark, Member of Parliament for Dauphin-Swan River Marquette received an Award of Appreciation  from the Ukrainian community for his dedication to advancing Bill C-331, The Ukrainian Canadian Recognition and Restitution Act. 

The award was presented to him at the opening ceremony of Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival on August 4 in Dauphin, Manitoba by Metro Dupley, President of  the festival, on behalf of the Ukrainian Centennial Memorial Park Committee; Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival; Ukrainian Folk Art Centre and Museum and The Ukrainian Community of Dauphin.

 “I accept this honour on behalf of the 5,000 internees, the 80,000 Ukrainian Canadians who were forced to register like common criminals and the thousands of Canadians of Ukrainian descent who worked for justice over the last two decades,” said Mark.

Bill C-331, an Act to acknowledge that persons of Ukrainian origin were interned in Canada during the First World War and to provide for recognition of this event, received Royal Assent on November 25, 2005.

 “The Ukrainian community now has an Act of Canada addressing this historic wrong,” said Mark. "We still have work to do.  To this day, the Ukrainian community has not received a single nickel from the Government of Canada.  We must continue to lobby the Prime Minister to ensure that the provisions in C-331 are carried out.”