Bill C-331

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First Reading

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	1st Session, 37th Parliament, 49-50 Elizabeth II, 2001
	House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-331
	An Act to recognize the injustice that was done to persons of Ukrainian descent and other Europeans who were interned at the time of the First World War and to provide for public commemoration and for restitution which is to be devoted to education and the promotion of tolerance
Preamble	Whereas persons of Ukrainian descent and other Europeans were imprisoned, disenfranchised and dispossessed of their assets without just cause at the time of the First World War and were kept there from 1914 to 1920; and
	Whereas it is beyond time that public recognition be made of this injustice and appropriate commemoration and public education undertaken;
	Now, Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Short title	1. This Act may be cited as the Ukrainian Canadian Restitution Act.
Memorial plaques and museum	2. (1) The Minister of Canadian Heritage shall
	(a) cause memorial plaques to be installed at any of the twenty-four concentration camps at which persons of Ukrainian descent and other Europeans were interned during and after the First World War, which do not yet have such plaques, describing the events at that time and the regrets of present-day Canadians, written in Ukrainian, English and French;
	(b) ensure that all memorial plaques at concentration camps, whenever installed, are properly maintained; and
	(c) establish a permanent museum in Banff National Park, at the site of the concentration camp that was established there, with signage in Ukrainian, English and French, providing information on
	(i) the operation of all the concentration camps established in Canada at the time of the First World War; and
	(ii) the role that Ukrainian Canadians have played in the building of Canada since that time.
Opening ceremony	(2) The Minister of Canadian Heritage shall arrange for suitable ceremonies at the time of installation of each memorial plaque and at the opening of the museum.
Restitution	3. (1) The Minister of Canadian Heritage, in cooperation with the Minister of Finance, shall negotiate with the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association a suitable payment in restitution for the confiscation of property and other assets from Ukrainian Canadians.
Application of restitution	(2) The restitution payment shall be applied to
	(a) the development and production of educational materials that cover Canada's past internment policies and activities and their distribution to schools, colleges and universities, with the objective of widening understanding of the harm of ethnic, religious or racial intolerance and discrimination, and the importance of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in protecting all Canadians from such injustice in the future; and
	(b) such other educational projects as are agreed to in consultation with the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
Commemorati ve postage stamps	4. The Minister of Public Works and Government Services shall instruct Canada Post Corporation to issue a stamp or set of stamps to commemorate the internment of persons of Ukrainian descent and other Europeans during the First World War.
Review of Emergencies Act	5. The Minister of Justice shall undertake a review of the Emergencies Act and report to Parliament within a year of the date this Act comes into force with recommendations on any legislative changes necessary to ensure that unjust internment such as that described in the preamble never again occurs in Canada.

Bill C-331

BILL C-331