Mr. Speaker, yesterday the member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore shamefully took credit for a Conservative initiative to recognize the internment of Ukrainian Canadians during World War I.
The member for Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette for years spearheaded the fight for that recognition. Our party had to drag the Liberals kicking and screaming, and the member knows that.
Why did he take credit for a Conservative initiative?
Was he trying to make amends for previously writing that he had difficulty taking Ukraine seriously and calling himself a great Russian while Ukrainians were merely little Russians and phony Cossacks? Or was it when he considered Ukrainian Canadians pathetic for protesting communism over the Bolshoi Ballet?
The Conservative Party recognizes the great contribution to Canadian society by the Ukrainian Canadian community even under trying wartime circumstances. Their concerns are being addressed in deliberations that we hope will reach resolve.
The Conservative Party is the party of multiculturalism. Nobody is fooled by the member's new-found epiphany for the Ukrainian Canadian concerns and the attempt--