On May 7th after passing second and third readings, the province of Saskatchewan became the first province in Canada to officially recognize the Holodomor as genocide! Bill 40 was sent for assent after being introduced by Deputy Premier and Education Minister Ken Krawetz a day earlier:

“Many survivors of this tragic time in history and their descendents live in Saskatchewan and have contributed greatly to our province’s cultural, economic, political and educational life,” Krawetz said. “This Act will ensure that on the fourth Saturday in November each year, Holodomor will be remembered and recognized.”

The bill came after awareness of the events of 1932-33 were raised with the Holodomor Remembrance Flame.  The 4th Saturday in November will be known as the Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (Holodomor) Memorial Day. Check out some pictures and videos from this history making event.

From the Ottawa Citizen:

Communism “still haunts the world,” and that’s why a group representing some 240 Polish-Canadian groups, as well as groups representing Canadians from 10 other ethnic backgrounds are advocating for a monument to the victims of Communism to be erected in downtown Ottawa.

The other groups represented include Latvian, Cuban,
Czech, Slovakian, Argentine, Chinese, Iranian, Korean, Ukrainian,Estonian and Canadian.

“In Russia, one-third of the people believe that Stalin ‘did more good than bad for the country,’ according to a recent poll. In China, thousands of dissidents are imprisoned in the slave labour camps known as the laogai. In North Korea, masses starve as the leadership threatens to unleash nuclear war. In Cuba,
dissidents are routinely imprisoned for peacefully petitioning for democratic reform.”

Mr. Lizon, who lives in Toronto, was in Ottawa yesterday for the screening of Katyn, a film about Polish officers killed by Soviet secret police during the Second World War. At the same event, an exhibit dedicated to the victims of Holodomor (the Great Famine) in Ukraine, was presented. Both events, held at the National Gallery, were organized by the Embassies of Poland and Ukraine, in collaboration with Mr. Kenney, the Canada-Poland Parliamentary Friendship Group and the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group.

read more…

The United States last year erected a humble Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington DC. Estonia in 2002 released a more creative memorial:

At first one part of the body is missing, than another and another until the figure seems to totally disappear into the void. Situated in the Lesser Town under Petrin hill, the memorial is the work of a renowned Czech sculptor Olbram Zoubek and architects Jan Kerel and Zdenek Hoelzel. Unfortunately one of the statues has been destroyed during a bomb attack in 2003.

Meanwhile many former Communist countries are trying to shed their haunted past to a more democratic future.

Last summer Estonia planned to remove a tribute to Red Army soldiers who died fighting Nazy Germany. Not only did violence ensue by ethnic Russians leading to a fatal stabbing, but a vicious cyber-war which shut down much internet access in Estonia lasted for several days.

Tension also arised in Poland and Ukraine over removal of monuments and renaming of street names. But after much global embarrassment over the cyber-war, it seems Russia is going back to its old tricks of waging war through infiltrating mainstream media with propaganda such as here and here. They are now charging the changes of “Facism” and “Neo-Nationalism”. Unfortunately it’s not always confined to Russian media, this NY Times article spent most of its time arguing whether Ukrainian monuments belong in Washington, including the Taras Shevchenko monument erected by former US President
Eisenhower in 1960 (also admired by another former US President John F. Kennedy and former Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker) and upcoming Holodomor memorial also in DC.

The ball is rolling on legislation that would make the 4th Saturday in November a Holodomor Memorial Day across several provinces in Canada. Last month Ontario MPP Dave Levac introduced legislature that has already passed had its second reading. The bill is being introduced while the Holodomor Remembrance Flame is touring Canada.

After the Flame toured Saskatchewan, Party deputy premier and Education Minister Ken Krawetz on Tuesday introduced similar legislation. Premier Brad Wall (who had a tape of him surface last month mocking Ukrainians) said his government could “move quite quickly” in the fall to adopt such a bill. Krawetz was appointed to the cabinet by Wall in 2007 when the Saskatchewan Party took power.

Meanwhile in Manitoba, after the Flame toured Winnipeg Selkirk-Interlake MP James Bezan tabled a private bill for Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (Holodomor) Memorial Day which has also reached its second reading. You can watch his speech that he addressed to the House of Commons below. James Bezan is of Ukrainian descent.

Some sources are reporting that Alberta already has a Holodomor day, but I could not find any information on it. If anyone has any, please post a link in the comments!

UPDATE: Added some some more newspaper links and Google Video

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Dave Levac, MPP of Brantford introduced Bill 61 to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to make the 4th Saturday in November in each year Holodomor Memorial Day

Preamble

The Holodomor is the name given to the genocide by famine that occurred in Ukraine from 1932 to 1933. As many as 10 million Ukrainians perished as victims of a man-made famine under Joseph Stalin’s regime, with 25,000 dying each day at the peak of the famine.

The Government of Ukraine, the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, the Senate of Canada, UNESCO, the United Nations and over 40 other jurisdictions around the world have officially condemned the Holodomor or recognized it as genocide. Ukraine has established the fourth Saturday in November in each year as the annual day to commemorate the victims of the Holodomor.

It is appropriate to extend the annual commemoration of the victims of the Holodomor to Ontario. A memorial day provides an opportunity to reflect on and to educate the public about the enduring lessons of the Holodomor and other crimes against humanity.

Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Holodomor Memorial Day

1. The fourth Saturday in November in each year is proclaimed Holodomor Memorial Day to commemorate the genocide by famine that occurred in Ukraine from 1932 to 1933.

Commencement

2. This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short title

3. The short title of this Act is the Holodomor Memorial Day Act, 2008.

If you live in Ontario, contact your MPP and tell them to support this bill! Manitoba already passed introduced legislation on the 4th Saturday in November to be known as Ukrainian Famine and Genocide Memorial Day! On Tuesday, the bill passed its second reading!