Walter Kish

Over the past week there has been a fair bit of publicity in the Canadian media on a new initiative spearheaded by the UCCLA (Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association) to draw public attention to the injustice of the internment operations implemented against so-called "enemy aliens" during the First World War. Project Roll Call aims to identify and contact the descendants of the thousands of Ukrainians that were unjustly imprisoned in labour camps as part of those internment operations. Many of these internees also had their property and assets confiscated. This project is part of a broader initiative that started earlier this year with the introduction of a Private Members Bill, C-331, The Ukrainian Canadian Restitution Act, by Inky Mark, MP (Dauphin-Swan River), in the House of Commons which seeks recognition and redress for this shameful government action.

What has been a major disappointment to Ukrainian Canadians is the fact that as long ago as 1993, Jean Chretien, then leader of the opposition, pledged his personal support as well as that of the Liberal party towards ensuring redress to the Ukrainian Canadian community on this issue. Sadly there has been no action on the part of the government to live up to this promise.

There is an unfortunate lack of concern on the part of the government as well as the broader Canadian public on issues of this nature. Most people consider them to be ancient history and representative of a time and era that has little to do with today’s more "enlightened" political and social realities. Surely, we are more politically knowledgeable, aware and engaged to ever allow anything remotely similar to happen again, are we not?

Sad to say, I think we are dangerously naïve if we believe that to be true. We have become complacent and take many of our human and civil rights too much for granted.

Events of recent weeks and months would tend to indicate that when circumstances and events produce the right amount of stress and pressure, governments have no qualms about reacting in an irrational and knee-jerk manner. We have witnessed in recent weeks how US Customs have begun to indiscriminately photograph, fingerprint and harass everyone born in certain countries that attempt to enter the USA. Hundreds of Americans of Arab descent are being held incommunicado and without charges on mere "suspicion" of terrorist involvement. Canada is being lambasted in the American media as being a "haven" for terrorists and pressured to adopt similar stringent security measures, despite the fact that none of the 9/11 terrorists came through Canada, but entered the US directly.

In Canada, the government’s denaturalization and deportation policy for suspected "war criminals" has made a mockery of Canada’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. Under this policy, a full fledged Canadian citizen who came to Canada as an immigrant many decades ago, can be deported without appeal or recourse, without having been convicted of any crime or wrong-doing whatsoever. All it takes is the suspicion, "on balance of probabilities", that he or she may not have truthfully answered questions regarding their past activities, regardless of whether it can be proven that those questions were even asked.

We should never assume that our fundamental rights and freedoms are secure, and that events such as the internment of Ukrainians almost a century ago can never happen again. As the events of 9/11 have demonstrated, circumstances can fuel sufficient fear and paranoia on the part of both the public and governments, to cause the suspension or rights and indiscriminate harassment of a whole ethnic or religious group of people.

This is why we must make sure that each generation understands and acknowledges the mistakes and injustices of the past, and educates the broader public on the dangers of limiting personal rights without due thought, analysis and a broad and rational assessment of all inherent risks as well as potential courses of action. It has taken civilization many thousands of years to evolve the current basic rights and principles on which our western, democratic societies are based. We should make sure that these are solidly entrenched both constitutionally and politically, and not allow a specific fear or the heat of passion to quickly erode what has taken so long to achieve.