Mr. Speaker, this Sunday afternoon, at the Ukrainian Black Sea Hall on Welland Avenue, I will be joining local members of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress at a memorial service for the Holodomor.
As members of this House are aware, in 1932 and 1933 the Communist regime of Joseph Stalin manufactured a famine that caused the deaths of millions of Ukrainians through forced starvation. Holodomor is one of the saddest stories in history but one that must be remembered, not only to guard against future atrocities but because the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics tried long and hard to hide the Holodomor from the world and from history.
However, these tragic events happened and I am honoured to accept the invitation of local Ukrainian Canadians in St. Catharines to honour the memory of the victims of Holodomor.
Vichnaya Pamyat, in everlasting remembrance.