Mr. Speaker, in 2005, the Liberal government signed agreements in principle worth several millions of dollars with various cultural communities as part of its acknowledgment, commemoration and education program, the ACE program.
The program was designed to repair the damage caused in the past to members of communities that had experienced injustices. For example, some Italians were imprisoned and labelled enemy aliens during the second world war. Without warning, the Conservatives decided not to respect these commitments.
This agreement was signed in good faith with representatives of the Italian and Ukrainian communities. This government does not have the right to not honour it. Once again, these mean-spirited withdrawals are just one more example of this government's extreme arrogance.
I would also like to know why it thinks it can intimidate and betray these communities that have given so much to Canada, and sully the memory of victims of past injustices.