Mr. Chair, before I begin the few words I would like to say today, I want to inform the House that I will be splitting my time with my friend and colleague, the hon. member for Mississauga EastâCooksville.
I am thankful for the opportunity to speak to this very important issue. It is crucial that we continue to educate current and future generations, as we have heard many times this evening, about the poisonous effects of anti-Semitic and xenophobic hate. We must also continue to research and teach about the Holocaust, as well as the prevention of genocide.
These are more than beliefs or convictions. They are, indeed, moral obligations. In fact, the release of the Anti-Defamation League's largest ever worldwide survey on anti-Semitic attitudes in 2013 shows us exactly why we must continue to speak out. More than 53,000 people in more than 100 countries were surveyed, and the results were alarming. Most significant is the fact that 35% of those surveyed had never heard of the Holocaust and, of those who had, roughly one-third said it was a myth or greatly exaggerated.
Canada is deeply committed to the promotion of Holocaust commemoration, research, and education around the world. It is through this commitment that we will guard against future atrocities. With each passing year, our commitment has remained and must continue to remain steadfast. As an expression of this commitment, the Government of Canada has proudly partnered with Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Israel, and other organizations on a great number of educational and commemorative initiatives in recent year.
I had the opportunity to travel to Israel in 2013 in a delegation with members of Parliament from all parties and in 2014 with the Right Hon. Prime Minister. On both of these trips, I visited Yad Vashem and was deeply moved by what I saw and learned at this poignant museum. Jews and non-Jews around the world are able to travel to Israel and understand the massacre that was the Holocaust in this museum in the modern Jewish homeland. If we are human, we cannot help but be moved by what we see when we walk through that museum.
In addition, in November, 2010, the second annual conference of the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism took place right here in our nation's capital, Ottawa. It brought together parliamentarians and experts from around the world to lead the fight against global anti-Semitism and developed what is known as the Ottawa protocol. Canada took the extra step of signing the protocol in the fall of 2011 to further underscore its commitment and to encourage other states to do so.
Canada has a proud history of promoting human rights and combatting hate and discrimination. The government supports a coordinated global effort against hatred and anti-Semitism, and the Ottawa protocol marks an important step in such an effort.
Our country's profound commitment to Holocaust remembrance and education was only made stronger when Canada took on the responsibility of chairing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in 2013-14, an intergovernmental body comprising 31 member states to promote Holocaust education, remembrance, and research. In our chair year, we hosted a major international conference on Holocaust remembrance and education in Toronto. It was among many other events and initiatives designed to promote Holocaust education and research and to confront and combat the global resurgence of anti-Semitism.
At the Toronto conference, we were also proud to obtain consensus on a working definition of Holocaust denial and distortion. This placed the IHRA in a better position to effectively target, monitor, and address the most extreme form of anti-Semitism on a global scale.
Canada's chairmanship of the IHRA came to a close to last year, when we handed over the chairmanship to the United Kingdom. However, our resolute dedication to this organization and to international Holocaust education, research, and commemoration continues.
In closing, we have an ongoing responsibility to resist all efforts to accept anti-Semitism as something normal or understandable, because once it is accepted as such by public opinion, it may lead to unimaginable consequences.