From The Province:

In the 2006 census, more than 129,000 Saskatchewan residents (13.6 per cent) reported Ukrainian ancestry, the sixth-largest ethnic group in the province.

Though now firmly rooted in Saskatchewan, Ukrainian Canadians have never forgotten their homeland, in particular the terrible famine of 1932-33, in which as many as 10 million Ukrainians — a quarter of the population — starved to death.

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Though long overshadowed by the Nazi Holocaust, in which as many as six million Jews were systematically murdered between 1939-45, the Holodomor has gained international recognition in recent years as a comparable crime against humanity.

Among those spreading the word is Saskatchewan’s deputy premier Ken Krawetz, who last year introduced legislation that remembers the victims of the Holodomor on the fourth Saturday of each November. Saskatchewan was the first province to pass such a law. The Canadian Parliament passed similar legislation in 2008.

Krawetz’s efforts have been recognized by the Ukrainian government, which will next month award him the highest honour that a non-citizen of Ukraine can receive. And at the weekend, Krawetz received an "Award of Excellence" from the Ukrainian Self-Reliance League of Canada for spreading the word about the Holodomor.

Of Ukrainian descent himself, Krawetz makes the point that "the world doesn’t know" about the Holodomor — and it should.

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Selling out most of its performances, Winnipeg’s Strike! musical returned after a five year hiatus to re-live the events of the 30,000 labour strike in 1919 Winnipeg and June 21’s ‘Bloody Saturday’. Receiving positive reviews, most media outlets neglected the fact the main character in the story is based off of Mike Sokolowski – a discriminated poor Ukrainian immigrant murdered during a demonstration in front of city hall.

Unfortunately Canada’s official biography website does not pay tribute to this man and his injustice:

Almost nothing is known of Mike Sokolowiski beyond the few (and sometimes contradictory) details recounted by Winnipeg newspapers reporting on his death.

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Even assuming that Sokolowiski was, as described, of “Austrian birth,” the Austro-Hungarian empire of the late 19th century had many ethnic groups.

Western Ukraine (the lands of Galicia and Bukovyna) was apart of the Austro-Hungarian empire at the time and immigrants fleeing that area were deemed “enemy aliens” in Canada during WW1. Thousands were even interned and endured slave labour during and after war time.

Continue reading Winnipeg’s Strike! musical remembers murdered Ukrainian on Bloody Saturday →

From the Leader-Post:

REGINA — Deputy Premier Ken Krawetz is being honoured at home and abroad for promoting awareness about the virtually unknown genocide in Ukraine.

On Saturday night, the 58-year-old politician received the Award of Excellence from the Ukrainian Self-Reliance League of Canada in recognition of his efforts to raise awareness of the 1932-33 famine-genocide in Ukraine known as Holodomor.

Last year, Krawetz introduced legislation to set aside the fourth Saturday of every November as a day to remember the millions of people who starved to death because of Soviet policies. The legislation was passed on May 6, 2008.

"The significance of the Act ties to two things: the world doesn’t know about this — that’s No. 1," Krawetz said in an interview Saturday. "The government of Ukraine and the president there have indicated that they want the message to get out that in fact a genocide had occurred."

He said it’s difficult to know how many people perished in one year, but it’s between seven and 10 million deaths.

"When you compare that to the Holocaust, which was an horrendous act, it matches in terms of the people who lost their lives — it’s probably equivalent to the same number," Krawetz said. "When it was raised by people of Ukrainian descent here in the province throughout the previous year, after it was marked in Ukraine, then it came to our government."

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