Speech (House debate)

{
    "time": "2026-03-10 10:05:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Anthony Housefather (Mount Royal, Lib.)",
        "fr": "Anthony Housefather (Mont\u2011Royal, Lib.)"
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p data-HoCid=\"9206013\" data-originallang=\"en\"> Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present in the House today a petition signed by 1,058 Canadians, related to a very sad chapter in Canadian history. Members will remember that about eight years ago, our former prime minister Justin Trudeau rose in the House to apologize for the treatment of Jewish refugees in the Second World War, including the refusal for the MS <em>St. Louis</em> to dock in Canada, sending 900 Jews back into Nazi-occupied Europe. They were fortunately given refuge, but with the start of the Second World War, many of them were actually killed.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"9206014\" data-originallang=\"en\">The petition relates to Jewish refugees who were sent here from the U.K. who were actually interned, some of them alongside Nazis, for up to three years during the war. The petition asks for us not only to educate Canadians as to this and for the government to devote money to education but also to install proper commemorative plaques at all the nine different sites where Jewish refugees were interned for up to three years, and to do outreach programs to high schools, etc.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"9206015\" data-originallang=\"en\"> At a time of rising anti-Semitism, this is a very important initiative, and I will work with them to do this.</p>",
        "fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"9206013\" data-originallang=\"en\">Monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident, j'ai l'honneur de pr\u00e9senter \u00e0 la Chambre une p\u00e9tition sign\u00e9e par 1 058 Canadiens au sujet d'un sombre chapitre de l'histoire du Canada. On se souviendra qu'il y a environ 8 ans, l'ancien premier ministre Justin Trudeau a pris la parole \u00e0 la Chambre pour s'excuser au nom du Canada d'avoir renvoy\u00e9 les quelque 900 juifs arriv\u00e9s ici \u00e0 bord du <em>Saint Louis</em> dans une Europe occup\u00e9e par les nazis. Heureusement, ils ont pu trouver refuge, mais apr\u00e8s le d\u00e9but de la guerre, bon nombre d'entre eux ont malgr\u00e9 tout \u00e9t\u00e9 tu\u00e9s.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"9206014\" data-originallang=\"en\">Dans cette p\u00e9tition, il est question des r\u00e9fugi\u00e9s juifs qui, arriv\u00e9s du Royaume\u2011Uni, ont \u00e9t\u00e9 intern\u00e9s ici durant la guerre, pendant une p\u00e9riode de trois ans dans certains cas, et parfois m\u00eame aux c\u00f4t\u00e9s de nazis. Les p\u00e9titionnaires demandent au gouvernement de mieux faire conna\u00eetre cette page de notre histoire aux Canadiens, de financer des projets \u00e9ducatifs, de poser une plaque comm\u00e9morative aux 9 endroits o\u00f9 ces r\u00e9fugi\u00e9s juifs ont \u00e9t\u00e9 intern\u00e9s et de mettre sur pied, entre autres initiatives, des programmes de sensibilisation destin\u00e9s aux \u00e9l\u00e8ves du secondaire.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"9206015\" data-originallang=\"en\">En cette p\u00e9riode marqu\u00e9e par la mont\u00e9e de l'antis\u00e9mitisme, cette initiative rev\u00eat une importance majeure, et je collaborerai avec les personnes concern\u00e9es pour la mener \u00e0 bien.</p>"
    },
    "url": "/debates/2026/3/10/anthony-housefather-1/",
    "politician_url": "/politicians/anthony-housefather/",
    "politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/4438/",
    "procedural": false,
    "source_id": "13393135",
    "h1": {
        "en": "Routine Proceedings",
        "fr": "Affaires courantes"
    },
    "h2": {
        "en": "Petitions",
        "fr": "P\u00e9titions"
    },
    "h3": {
        "en": "Jewish Refugees",
        "fr": "Les r\u00e9fugi\u00e9s juifs"
    },
    "document_url": "/debates/2026/3/10/",
    "related": {
        "document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fdebates%2F2026%2F3%2F10%2F"
    }
}