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Mr. Speaker, 70 years ago the first transports began arriving at death camps like Auschwitz,
sites of the worst government-sponsored genocide
in history. A publicly funded national Holocaust monument
in the National Capital is one way that all Canadians could be part of honouring the Holocaust's
victims. This House, reflecting that wish, unanimously
supported Bill C-442 to accomplish that. Yet at
committee, the government introduced nine amendments, one for each article, signalling
that it was walking away from its commitment and withdrawing
its support for a publicly funded national Holocaust monument.
Instead, the Conservatives told a small segment of our population to raise the money, build
the monument, and when and if this is done, they
would take ownership and credit. There is no need. The Minister of Transport
already has the authority and the means to direct the
National Capital Commission to build this monument on behalf of all Canadians.
I ask the minister and the government to respect the will of the House and get this monument
out of the political arena and on the ground where
it belongs.