Mr. Speaker, last week marked the 79th anniversary of the Holodomor genocide. I had the opportunity to commemorate this important event with my colleagues from all parties at a very moving ceremony right here on Parliament Hill.
The Holodomor embodies a period in which Stalin's Communist regime engineered a devastating famine on the Ukrainian people. Stalin's government ruthlessly confiscated supplies down to the very last seed, inciting food shortages across the land.
Soviet armed units surrounded the Ukrainian population in the Kuban region and Ukraine preventing the people from obtaining food in neighbouring Soviet regions. The result was death in the millions in what can only be described as one of the most horrific genocides in history.
I hope that every member was able to take a moment to remember the men, women and children lost in this tragedy.
[Member spoke in Ukrainian and provided the following translation:]
And to our brothers and sisters of the Holodomor, may their memory be eternal.