Mr. Speaker, I rise today on the occasion of Canada assuming the position of chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The IHRA is an inter-governmental body comprising government officials and experts from 31 countries to support Holocaust remembrance, research and education. Our Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism is attending the handover ceremony in Berlin today.
On the initiative of our Prime Minister, Canada became actively involved with the IHRA in 2007, and we became a full member in 2009. We can all be proud of Canada's leading role in Holocaust education, fighting anti-Semitism and sharing best practices with other countries.
We must never let our guard down against the pernicious evil of anti-Semitism. The Holocaust stands as history's greatest atrocity. Thus it remains essential that we ensure that such hatred and prejudice will never again rise to such an extreme.