On April 29, 2008 MP James Bezan delivered a historic speech in the House of Commons, leading the first hour of debate at Second Reading of his Private Members Bill C-459. The bill seeks to establish a Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (Holodomor) Memorial Day and to recognize the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-33 as an act of genocide.

“I am proud to proceed with my Private Members Bill that would recognize the forced Ukrainian famine of 1932-33 as an act of genocide and designate a memorial day to honour the memory of the victims of the Ukrainian famine,” stated Bezan. “I am of Ukrainian heritage and put forward this bill so that our government will acknowledge the deaths of 7 to 10 million victims as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people. I am also calling upon historians, journalists, and educators to record and include the facts from this horrible genocide so that all Canadians can learn from this tragic piece of Ukrainian history.”

The bill was introduced last year as Ukrainian-Canadians and the international community marked the 75th anniversary of one of the most heinous crimes in modern history - the state-sponsored famine of 1932-33 perpetrated by the Soviet regime under Joseph Stalin against the Ukrainian people. For decades the truth about this horrific crime was suppressed and denied by Soviet authorities.

“The omission of this forced famine and genocide from our history books is very troubling to me and I hope that this bill will bring to light the atrocities that were committed against the Ukrainian people. Canada has a long-standing history of condemning all war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocides, and this bill will once and for all acknowledge the forced famine and genocide against the Ukrainian people,” concluded Bezan.