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Canadian Prime Minister's Office
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau inside the memorial
# oversight
Canada takes down Holocaust memorial after forgetting to mention Jewish people
Critics called it a “profoundly obvious omission”.
A PLAQUE HAS been removed from Canada’s Holocaust memorial just a week after it opened, because it didn’t mention Jewish people.
The memorial was opened by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last Wednesday in Ottawa.
The commemorative plaque reads: “[This monument] commemorates the millions of men, women and children murdered during the Holocaust and honours the survivors who persevered and were able to make their way to Canada after one of the darkest chapters in history.”
Opposition politicians were quick to seize upon the omission.
Speaking in parliament, Conservative MP David Sweet called it a “profoundly obvious omission”.
He added: “If we are going to stamp out hatred toward Jews, it is important to get history right.”
Conservative Senator Linda Frum also tweeted a picture of the text:
In response, Canada’s Heritage Minister said: “The National Holocaust monument commemorates the six million Jews as well as the five million other victims that were murdered during the Holocaust.
The plaque has been removed and we will replace it with language that reflects the horrors experienced by the Jewish people.
Although not the fault of Trudeau himself, it is actually the second time his government has been under fire for the same reason.
In a statement marking International Holocaust Day in 2016, Trudeau was criticised for not mentioning Jewish people when he said the day was one “to pay tribute to the memory of the millions of victims murdered during the Holocaust”.
