Kennedy Would Apologize for Wartime Measures

TORONTO–Liberal Leadership Candidate Gerard Kennedy on November 24 pledged that under his leadership the Liberal Party of Canada would extend an apology to Canadians who were affected by exclusionary immigration policies and by past wartime measures.

“In making this apology, we will emerge as a stronger nation, more complete and more worthy of emulation by the international community,” said Kennedy.

The apology would accompany the introduction of an Apology Act – legislation similar to that which has recently been implemented in the province of British Columbia that enables apologies to be issued by governments without fear of being mired in liability issues. Under Kennedy, the Federal Government would work with affected communities to recommend suitable community educational and commemorative projects.

Joining Kennedy for his announcement were Liberal MPs Raymond Chan, Navdeep Bains and Borys Wrzesnewskyj.

Following the announcement,  Wrzesnewskyj underscored the importance of providing closure to the affected families and communities, including the Ukrainian Canadian community.

“The Ukrainian Canadian community was the victim of Canada’s first national internment operations. From 1914 to 1920 over 5,000 Ukrainian Canadians were interned and forced into hard labour,” said Wrzesnewskyj.

“Through this announcement Gerrard Kennedy has shown he understands the, at times, difficult episodes of our collective history and respects the contributions our multicultural communities have made for Canada,” he added.

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Gerard Kennedy