Mr. Speaker, on May 28, 1914, at 4:30 p.m., the Empress of Ireland set sail from the port of Quebec City, bound for Liverpool.
At exactly the same time, a Norwegian collier, the Storstad, was heading up the St. Lawrence River carrying cargo for Montreal. At about 1:40 a.m., the lookout on the Empress of Ireland signalled the presence of Storstad in the distance. As the Empress of Ireland sailed past Rimouski, a thick fog rolled in suddenly.
At 1:55 a.m., the Storstad rammed into the side of the Empress of Ireland and the freezing water of the St. Lawrence rushed in. Within 14 minutes, it was all over. Of the 1477 passengers and crew members, 1,012 died. Only four of the 138 children on board survived the tragedy.
The Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père this week commemorates the sinking of the Empress of Ireland, with several dozens of the survivors' descendants in attendance. The Canadian Museum of History, in Gatineau, is also launching today an exhibition entitled “Canada's Titanic”.
Hollywood has not made a film about the sinking of the Empress of Ireland. It probably never will. However, we can and we must keep the memory of the victims alive on this 100th anniversary of the tragedy.