The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day:
"On this 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, we remember the more than six million Jewish men, women and children brutally murdered by the Nazi regime and its collaborators in the Shoah. We also honour the countless Romani, LGBTQ2 individuals, persons with disabilities and political dissidents who were killed as well as those who stood against the horrors of the Nazi atrocities.
"The Holocaust is a horrific reminder of what can happen when sovereign acts of discrimination and intolerance go undenounced. What began with inflammatory rhetoric to dehumanize and degrade the Jews of Europe evolved into the systematic and deliberate revocation of rights, theft of property, incarceration, and ultimately, mass extermination.
"As the years following the Holocaust grow, and the voices of survivors are fewer, it is vital that we work together to ensure that future generations of Canadians learn about this dark chapter so it is never forgotten. This is why Canada will continue to denounce those who use antisemitic language or engage in antisemitic behaviour, and condemn attacks on human rights. We also firmly reject any denial of the Holocaust and stand on guard against historical amnesia.
"In 2019, Canada adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. Last week, Canada supported the adoption of the 2020 International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Ministerial Declaration in which we, and all members of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, recommitted to the principles of the Declaration of the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust.
"Seven decades after the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Canada solemnly stands with all those who stand for justice and human rights to say with one voice: Never again."
Contacts
Adam Austen
Deputy Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
