Tonight, the Toronto District School Board had approved the recommendation to exclude the newly federally recognized Ukrainian genocide famine known as the Holodomor from their new Gr. 11 class on Genocide.

From the Memorandum:

Recommendation 3: It is recommended that students be taught the importance of establishing intent when characterizing a crime against humanity as a genocide.

Students will be expected to study other examples of genocide, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, war crimes and human rights abuses in the 20th and 21st centuries based on their personal interests and appropriate academic resources. These examples might include Cambodia, Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, the Ukrainian Famine, East Timor, Bosnia, Darfur, the former Yugoslavia and others. While it is noted that more people died in the Ukrainian Famine than in all of the genocides that are included in the course, the Review Committee did not recommend altering the course at this time but this should be considered when the course is reviewed.

Recommendation 4: It is recommended that the number of actual case studies not be expanded at this time.

Recommendation 5: It is recommended that a teacher course review committee be set up in the third year with a view to re-examining the curriculum content and the course description.

Despite the efforts by presenters Andrew Melnyk, Valetnina Kuryliw, Luba Tarapacky, Alex Chumak and Chrystyna Bidiak the Holodomor was chosen not to be added to the curriculum. While members of the board assured the genocide would still be mentioned, it would not be a main point of focus like the Holocaust, Armenian and Rwandan Genocides.  The board has decided not to renew interest in updating the curiculum for another three years.