Mr. Speaker, I am reminiscing today about my grampa. When I was four, my grampa would sit me down on a beautifully carved loveseat that my grandparents brought with them when they immigrated to Canada, and he would dance for me. I am so thankful they chose to immigrate to Canada. I am blessed to be their granddaughter today.
My grandparents came to Saskatchewan in 1926, five years before the Stalin communist regime committed a horrific act of genocide known as the Holodomor, or death by hunger, in Soviet Ukraine. For years, this atrocity was covered up. Ten million Ukrainians died from brutal starvation. At its worst, 17 per minute, 1,000 every hour, 25,000 a day, were exterminated by artificial famine.
I am thankful that in 2008, the Canadian government unanimously recognized this genocide and passed the Ukrainian Famine and Genocide Memorial Day Act. I am thankful that there is an increased opportunity for young Canadians to learn the truth of this atrocity that continues to be part of the painful history of our Ukrainian community in Canada and throughout the world.