Mr. Speaker, I stand today to commemorate the day of remembrance for the victims of the Katyn massacres. The Katyn massacres took place in April 1940, during the Soviet Union's continued occupation of Poland, when over 20,000 Polish officers were brutally murdered by the Soviet Red Army while being held as prisoners of war under the full protection of the Geneva conventions.
As if these terrible crimes were not enough, the Soviet government attempted to place the blame on the Nazi regime and only finally admitted its involvement in 1990. It has never issued an apology to the families and nation shocked and wounded by these terrible events that occurred in the Katyn forest near Smolensk.
As a Polish immigrant to Canada, I know the horrific impact the Soviet Union's invasion and occupation had on Poland. The events of April 1940 are forever seared into the hearts and minds of the Polish people and those of Polish heritage.
Today, I stand in remembrance of the victims of Katyn and of the terrible crimes committed by the Soviet Union.