UCC Says Government's Internment Negotiations Approach is Unacceptable

In 2005, the Government of Canada included $25 mil­lion in its budget for an Acknowledgment, Commemoration and Educational (ACE) Fund, of which $2.5 million was agreed to as the first phase of a final settlement to the Ukrain­ian Canadian community. An additional $10-million endow­ment fund for the Ukrainian Canadian community was being negotiated. The total $ 12.5-million settlement was to be es­tablished within the Shevchenko Foundation and adminis­tered together with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association. The funds were intended to be used for educational, research and com­munity-building programs.

In November 2005, thanks to the initiative of MP Inky Mark, Bill C 331 - Internment of Persons of Ukrainian Origin Recognition Act, was passed by Parliament. By statute, the Government is now required to recognize what hap­pened during Canada’s first national internment operations and to negotiate a settlement. But, to date the Government of Canada has taken no action to fulfill its legislated commit­ment.

In March 2006, however, the Minister of Canadian Heri­tage Bev Oda indicated that only $2.5 million in funding would be available to the Ukrainian Canadian community and that they must apply for this funding through a grant-application process administered by the Department of Cana­dian Heritage. Furthermore, the total funds would be less any administrative costs incurred by the Department of Cana­dian Heritage in the administration of this three-year pro­gram.

The approach proposed by the current government is not acceptable to the Ukrainian Canadian community as it undermines the principle of a community-based endow­ment which was agreed to by the government of Canada in an agreement signed by Raymond Chan, Minister of Heritage [as he was known then), on August 24, 2005. It does not provide for the proper acknowledgement and
recognition of this tragic event in Canada’s history and does not provide for negotiations of a final settlement as required by both legislation (the Internment of Persons of Ukrainian Origin Recognition Act) and contract (Agreement in Principle).

It is interesting to note that on June 22, 2006, the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, outlined a package of redress measures which were focused on Chinese Canadians, with no mention, although presumed inclusion, of the Ukrainian Ca­nadian redress issue. It includes:

• an official apology on behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians for the Head Tax paid by Chinese immigrants from 1885 to 1923 to Can­ada, and from 1906-1949 to the Dominion of New­foundland;

• ex gratia payments (payments made voluntarily) of $20,000 to living Head Tax payers and persons who had been in a conjugal relationship with a now-deceased Head Tax payer;

• a $24-million Community Historical Recognition Program to provide grant and contribution funding for community projects linked to wartime measures and immigration restric­tions;

• a $10-million National Historical Recognition Program to fund federal initiatives, developed in partnership with other stakeholders.

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress is calling upon all Canadians to express their dissatisfaction with the way this process is being addressed by the Govern­ment of Canada with regards to the issue of the internment of Ukrainians and to demand that the government agrees to negotiate a final settle­ment with the Ukrainian Canadian community.