Êîíãðåñ Óêðà¿íö³â Êàíàäè - ³ää³ë Òîðîíòî
Ukrainian
Canadian Congress - Toronto Branch
January 30,
2008
Hon. Kathleen Wynne
Subject :
Request
for Reconsideration of a
Learning Resource/ Curriculum
Genocide:
Historical and Contemporary Implications
[Holodomor – 1933 Famine Genocide in Ukraine]
I am
writing to you on
behalf of the Board of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in Toronto in
regard to
the TDSB Ontario Ministry of Education approved proposal for a newly
developed
course – “Genocide: Historical and Contemporary Implications”.
It has come to the
attention of
our Board that the proposed course will focus on three genocides (the
Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, and the Armenian genocide) to the
exclusion of
the Holodomor. This is outrageous and
academically inexplicable. You are
deliberately omitting one of the major genocides of the 20th
century. It is akin to having a course
on history and omitting WWII.
The Holodomor (1932-33
Famine
Genocide in Ukraine) was a deliberate act of genocide against the
Ukrainian
nation, and was part of larger plan designed to break the back of the
Ukrainian
people, and in particular their resistance to Communist rule. It claimed 10,000,000 victims.
The Holodomor is a
horrific and
brutal chapter in modern history and should not be forgotten. And yet, by your omission of the Holodomor,
you further bring injustice to the victims of this crime by ignoring
their
memory. This is particularly painful
this year, as we mark the 75th anniversary Holodomor.
The Holodomor needs to be
understood and its lessons learned, so that it is never repeated. One needs to ask oneself – had the Holodomor
not been ignored in 1933, would the Holocaust have been ignored a
decade later
? Possibly not ! Then
why are we again ignoring this crime
from the pages of history ?
There are currently over
1.2 million Canadians of Ukrainian
background living in Canada, with well over 100,000 living in the City
of
Toronto and many more residing in the surrounding Greater Toronto Area. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Toronto
Branch, represents our community before the media and government,
promotes
linkages with Ukraine, and identifies and addresses the needs of our
community
to ensure its continued development within Canada's socio-cultural
fabric. We have 40 member organizations
that
represent our community across a wide spectrum of demographics and
interests
(see attached list). Our community is outraged at this deliberate
omission and requests that you include the Holodomor as part of the
Genocide
course.
We would be pleased to
meet with
you to discuss how to best approach a resolution to this issue.
Yours truly,
Markian Shwec
President