Mr. Speaker, the summer of 1997 was named the Irish Summer by Heritage Canada in honour of the victims of the great Irish famine from 1845 to 1850. During these five terrible years in Ireland, one million people died of starvation and famine fever. Another one million fled across the Atlantic, some 300,000 to British North America, including my own ancestors.
These Irish refugees were escaping repeated failures of the potato crops, but also brutal and indifferent economic theories which held sway at the so-called centre of civilization.
The worst year of all was 1847, Black '47, when 20,000 Irish died on the coffin ships or in the quarantine stations of Grosse Isle, Quebec and Partridge Island, New Brunswick.
One hundred and fifty years later this government affirmed its commitment to preserve and protect the sacred burial grounds and monuments. The best tribute to the victims of the Irish famine is that Canada always be a nation which welcomes the refugee peoples of our world.