Premier David Eby has issued the following statement marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day:

“On this sombre day, we honour the memory of the more than six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. We remember the many others persecuted by the Nazis because of their race, creed, religion, politics, sexual identity and perceived disability. This day is also a time to honour survivors and the people killed who were trying to defend those targeted by this poisonous ideology.

“Today marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, an event that showed a disbelieving world the monstrosity of mass murder, systemic starvation and other horrors inflicted on Jews across Europe.

“The number of survivors and witnesses lessens with each passing year, making it ever more important to listen to and learn from those who know too well what it means to confront evil. What must never be lost in the dizzying number is that each was an individual life cruelly extinguished.

“Our government is working with the Jewish community in British Columbia to ensure all high school students in the province learn about the Holocaust as part of their education about injustices and discriminatory practices in Canada and around the world.

“The terrorist attacks that killed more than 1,200 Israeli citizens in 2023 has been followed by a global increase in antisemitic acts, including here in our province. We must always confront and oppose such acts if we are to fulfil the solemn pledge of ‘Never again.’ Today and every day, we stand with the Jewish community.”