11 April 2010
Ottawa, Ontario
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement to mark Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day):
“On Yom HaShoah, Canadians of all faiths will stand together to remember the suffering of the millions of innocent men, women and children who were victims of the Holocaust.
“The hatred and bigotry that led to the Holocaust still lurks in our world. Anti-Semitic crimes in Canada, including recent vandalism at Jewish schools in Calgary, Montreal and Toronto, demonstrate the continuing need for both action and education. They remind us of the necessity of standing firm and taking decisive action against the evils of anti-Semitism. Our Government is doing both while taking steps to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust are remembered.
We refused to participate in the Durban II conference in April 2009, in light of its promotion of anti-Semitism. We walked out of the United Nations in September 2009 to protest the anti-Israel, anti-Jewish declarations of Iran. And we committed to supporting a national Holocaust memorial in the 2010 Speech from the Throne.
“The Holocaust stands alone in the annals of human history. It was not just a crime perpetrated against a specific group of people; it was a crime that challenged the fundamental values all civilized peoples hold dear: freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Canada will continue to stand against any forces that oppose these essential principles. We must never allow the crimes of the past to be repeated or forgotten.”