GOLDRING CALLS FOR NATIONAL HOLODOMOR MONUMENT

OTTAWA – Edmonton East Member of Parliament Peter Goldring has introduced a motion in the House of Commons calling for the government “to initiate discussion of a national Holodomor monument in the National Capital Region that would educate Canadians on this tragedy and work to prevent its repetition.”

On April 23, 1999, Mr. Goldring was the first Member of Parliament to refer to the Holodomor, the 1932-33 planned famine inflicted on Ukraine by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin that killed eight million people, as a genocide. He has continued to bring the subject to Parliament’s attention since.

“There is no public monument to honour all of the victims and Canadian survivors of the Holodomor in the National Capital Region,” Mr. Goldring says. “It is important to ensure that the Holodomor continues to have a permanent place in our nation’s consciousness and memory. While facts about the Holodomor were suppressed behind the “Iron Curtain” and beyond for many years in a deliberate attempt to eradicate history, we have an obligation to honour the memory of Holodomor victims as part of our collective resolve to never forget. The establishment of a national monument shall forever remind Canadians of one of the darkest chapters in human history and can be a tool to help future generations learn about the root causes of the Holodomor and its consequences in order to help prevent future acts of genocide.”

Mr. Goldring notes that his colleague Tim Uppal, Member of Parliament for Edmonton-Sherwood Park, sponsored a Private Member’s Bill for a national monument commemorating the victims of the Nazi Holocaust.

“I sopported Tim Uppal’s bill because it was a good one, and it made me ask why there is no similar monument for the victims of the Holodomor. There are Holodomor monuments in cities across Canada, including Edmonton, but we need more national recognition of this tragedy, this dark side of humanity. A national monument would go a long way in informing the public about this horrific event that for too long was covered up.

Regardless of an election call, Mr. Goldring said he will pursue the motion as soon as Parliament returns and also introduce a Private Members Bill on establishing a National Holodomor Monument.