Monday, May 12, 2008

Conservatives gyp Ukrainian Canadians

In the category of too little, even later, comes a report from the Toronto Star, that the Canadian government is backfilling a previous agreement signed between the Liberal Federal Government and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in 2005 for $12.5 million and replacing it with a smaller agreement to be divvied up among other offended ethnic groups!

According to the Toronto Star the feds announced, "$10 million grant to recognize how Eastern European immigrants were interned in Canadian work camps during World War I."
The money goes to an endowment fund that will allow the community to better educate Canadians about the forced labour camps. The 1914-20 internment affected almost one hundred thousand Ukrainians who were stripped of their possessions and forced into work camps, while thousands more were labelled "enemy aliens" and required to report regularly to police.

The most shocking thing about this announcement is that the Ukrainian community can call getting less than 50 cents on the dollar of what they had under the Liberal agreements a victory. And this one will be shared with all aggrieved Eastern European communities.

1 comment:

Sheena said...

I remember watching some NDP thing on CPAC a couple of years ago and someone used the word "gyp" and my ears pricked up thinking, OMG the NDP said gyp on CPAC and sure 'nuff within 5 minutes someone was at the mike on the floor demanding a motion to withdraw the comment.

This with Gogol Bordello "Wear Purple" in my head right now...