Bruce Ralston, Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology, has issued the following statement on the Holodomor Memorial Day:

“Each year at this time, people around the globe reflect on one of the most brutal and heinous acts in human history and remember its victims and survivors.

“In 1932 and 1933, in an effort to wipe out the nation of Ukraine, the Ukrainian people and their dreams of independence, the Soviet Union inflicted mass starvation upon the citizens of Ukraine through the theft of their land and the food they had grown on it – their very means of survival.

“The resulting famine and genocide killed between three million and four million children, women and men – and became known as the Holodomor, or ‘killing by starvation.’

“Last month, Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (Holodomor) Memorial Day was officially designated as a day of remembrance in British Columbia, to be commemorated each year on the fourth Saturday of November.

“On this day, we pause and remember those who were victims of this heinous act, and we declare a solemn pledge on behalf of all British Columbians: Never again.”