OTTAWA, March 14, 2005 -- The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Irwin Cotler, will visit Israel and Germany from March 15 to March 19, 2005. In Israel, Minister Cotler, and Transport Minister Jean Lapierre, will attend a ceremony marking the inauguration of a new museum at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem. The new museum, designed by Canadian architect Moshe Safdie, consists of the Holocaust History Museum - and within it the Hall of Names - the Museum of Holocaust Art, and the Exhibitions Pavilion. Yad Vashem is a memorial to the six million murdered during the Holocaust. With the goals of commemoration, education, research and documentation, Yad Vashem contains the world's largest repository of information on the Holocaust. While in Berlin, the Minister will participate in an international roundtable on 'Constitutions and Constitutionalism,' which is sponsored by the University of Toronto. The roundtable will be one of the first events to be held in the new Canadian Embassy in Berlin. The Minister will meet with several key government officials while in Germany including Minister of Justice of Germany Brigitte Zypries, and Federal Minister of the Interior Otto Schily. - 30 - Ref.: Denise Rudnicki Director of Communications Office of the Minister of Justice (613) 992-4621 Mylène Dupéré Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Justice (613) 992-4621
