Liberal statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day
January 27, 2014
OTTAWA AND KRAKOW, POLAND – The Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau, issued the following statement today on International Holocaust Remembrance Day:
“Today, Canadians join in honouring the memories of the more than six million victims of the Holocaust. We also acknowledge the survivors of the Holocaust– including many Jewish-Canadians – the importance of their stories, and the many who have endured unimaginable suffering with strength and courage.
“While this day is a time for solemn remembrance, it is also an essential opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to never again allow such horrors to occur. In spite of everything we have come to learn of the Holocaust, we, as a society, must never stop working to educate others and combat hatred and bigotry in all its forms.”
Liberal Rights, Freedoms, and International Justice Critic, Irwin Cotler, continued:
“Today, I have the humble privilege of joining the largest delegation of international Parliamentarians to visit the death camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Visiting these sites is an important opportunity to remember acts too terrible to be believed, but not too terrible to have happened. This delegation of American, European, and Israeli Parliamentarians will be joined by Holocaust survivors.
“On the 69th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, we must remember and pledge that never again will we be indifferent to incitement, hate, and mass atrocity – or silent in the face of evil and impunity.”