UKRAINIAN CANADIAN CIVIL LIBERTIES ASSOCIATION
L'ASSOCOIATION UKRAINIENNE-CANADIENNE DES DROITS CIVILS  
УКРАЇНСЬКО-КАНАДСЬКА АСОЦІАЦІЯ ГРОМАДЯНСЬКИХ СВОБОД

On June 23, 2024 in Vegreville, AB there was an unveiling ceremony of the monument dedicated to the World War I Internment Operations in Canada.
Цікавий телерепортаж про відкриття пам’ятника інтернованим українцям у містечку Веґревіль, пров. Альберта, Канада.

During the First World War, more than 8,500 Ukrainian and other immigrant men from the Austro-Hungarian Empire were deemed to be enemy aliens. These men, and some of their families were interned in Canada until 1920. A travelling exhibit of this episode in Canadian history is on at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada. Host Theresa Kliem talks with Lubomyr Luciuk, a professor at the Royal Military College of Canada, who will give an online lecture about this chapter in Canadian history. Listen at: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-88-saskatoon-morning/clip/16043564-a-travelling-exhibit-arrived-saskatoon-sheds-light-dark

Visit https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0438177 to view the video

Between 1914-1920 thousands of Ukrainians and other East Europeans were rounded up as “enemy aliens” and transported to24 “receiving stations” and internment camps across the Dominion, some of which were kept open until the spring of 1920. What little wealth the internees had was confiscated, they were forced to do heavy labour for the profit of their jailers, disenfranchised and subjected to other state-sanctioned censures, not because of anything they had done wrong but only because of who they were, where they had come from. Providing an overview of this still little-known episode in Canadian history this lecture will also detail how the Ukrainian Canadian community organized and articulated a redress campaign that, starting in 1987, resulted in the formation of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund in 2008. An endowment that subsequently funded various commemorative and educational projects about Canada’s first’ national internment operations of 1914-1920.

"Join Dr. Xavier Gélinas, Curator of Lost Liberties – The War Measures Act, for a virtual talk and tour of the exhibit.

About the exhibit:
Lost Liberties – The War Measures Act, a travelling exhibition from the Canadian Museum of History that invites visitors to reflect on the difficult balance between national security and individual liberties in times of crisis.

The exhibition explores the fears, racism and crises that drove the suspension of civil liberties in Canada during the First World War, the Second World War, and the 1970 October Crisis. In each crisis the federal government applied the War Measures Act, which had serious impacts on the civil liberties of many individuals, groups and communities in Canada."

Репортаж Максима Боровського про відкриття пам’ятника інтернованим Першої світової війни на території Альбертської Законодавчої Ради (парламенту провінції Альберта) в м. Едмонтон, пров. Альберта, Канада в неділю, 1 жовтня 2023 року. Цей проект пам’ятника та його урочисте відкриття організувала Українська Канадська Фундація Громадських Свобод (УКФГС). Автор пам’ятника - скульптор Герман Поулин.

TV report by Maksym Borovskyi about the official unveiling of the WWI Internment Operations monument at Alberta Provincial Legislature grounds in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The monument project and unveiling event were organized by the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation (UCCLF) and was held on Sunday, October 1, 2023. Monument design by sculptor Herman Poulin.

​

Report starts at 4 minutes, 54 seconds. Please visit web link https://www.cbc.ca/player/news/Canada/Edmonton?cmp=DM_SEM_NEWS_EDMONTON&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1OmoBhDXARIsAAAYGSGNiERqL8ftK4Gs9L5dft8FmKy0zHZX9DNPK0mRxdpidhcdnaBzk68aAsp-EALw_wcB

Please visit web link: https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2778091

Report starts at 4 minutes, 50 seconds. Please visit web link
https://globalnews.ca/video/9998684/global-news-hour-at-6-edmonton-october-1-2/

The Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation (UCCLF) on Saturday, June 10th, 2023, officially unveiled in Calgary Canada’s newest educational and commemorative panel marking the country’s first use of the War Measures Act.

https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2705833

Calgary's Ukrainian community unveils an exhibit marking Canada's First World War Internment operations.
https://globalnews.ca/news/9760194/calgary-monument-wwi-internment-camps-ukrainians/

​

Thousands of Ukrainian immigrants were sent to 24 forced-labour camps during the First World War in Canada. Two of those camps were in Banff National Park. Carolyn Kury de Castillo has more on a man who has written a play about his relative’s daring escape from imprisonment and how that play is helping raise funds for people suffering in Ukraine – Jun 20, 2022
https://globalnews.ca/video/8934941/play-tells-story-of-ukrainian-immigrants-escape-from-banff-internment-camp

What happens when personal freedoms come into conflict with national security?
Lost Liberties – The War Measures Act probes the fears, crises and social upheaval that drove the suspension of civil liberties in Canada during the First World War, the Second World War and the 1970 October Crisis, and features poignant firsthand accounts from the men, women and children who experienced these events, as well as from their descendants.

Why a Montreal playwright made a play about a World War One internment camp here in Alberta.
Calgary Eyeoperner with David Gray, Angela Knight, CBC Calgary, December 7, 2021 https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-5-calgary-eyeopener/clip/15882963-run-nawrocki-run-escape-banff-prison

With Premier Jason Kenney and Minister Tyler Shandro

8:32 • Репортаж про Національний День пам'яті інтернування в Канаді під час Першої світової війни. У віртуальній студії - Борис Сидорук, Голова Національного комітету вшанування пам'яті інтернованих Конгресу Українців Канади;

​

​

7:19 • Розмова з Романом Закалужним, головою Українського Канадського Товариства Захисту Громадянських Прав, про вандалізм заподіяний минулого тижня українським церквам після виявлення невідомих могил на місці колишніх шкіл-інтернатів по Канаді;
• Інтерв'ю з Любомиром Луцюком, канадійським істориком, про безіменні поховання інтернованих українців в Канаді, як певне співвідношення з жертвами системи расизму;
Interview with Roman Zakaluzny and Lubomyr Luciuk of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association;

​

During the First World War, Canada was part of the British Empire and fought with Britain against Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. These four countries were known as the Central Powers. The Canadian government considered recent immigrants from these enemy nations to be a threat to Canada. This means that many people who had recently moved to Canada were considered enemies. Although they had never committed a crime, more than 8,500 of these “enemy aliens” were imprisoned in 24 different internment camps across Canada. In the camps, the internees did hard labour in very poor living conditions away from their homes, friends, and often their families.

Educators, for a LESSON Plan click: https://valourcanada.ca/wp-content/up...

Through a partnership between Royal Roads University and Valour Canada, this War Heritage Research Initiative documentary is made available to our subscribers.

Ukrainian Internment Virtual Program from UCC Manitoba Provincial Council.
The program includes reading of poems in English and Ukrainian by students and teachers of various schools of the English - Ukrainian Bilingual and the Ukrainian Saturday Schools in Manitoba.
Welcoming remarks are provided by Joan Lewandosky, President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress - Manitoba Provincial Council and concluding remarks by Dr. Roman Yereniuk.
.
The program features three key speakers:
1. Dr Lubomyr Luciuk - a scholar who has studied and written extensively on the Internment and
2. Writer Sandra Semchuk, author of the recently published book " The Stories Were Not Told: Stories and Photographs from Canada's First Internment Camps 1914-1920".

A reflection on how I came to be involved with UCCLA's campaign for recognition and symbolic redress for Canada's first national internment operations (recorded October 3, 2020).

​

The Cave and Basin Internment Exhibit in Banff National Park was originally to be opened on June 20, 2013. The planned opening was postponed due to massive flooding in the area and the Cave and Basin Internment Exhibit opened on September 13, 2013.

Borys Sydoruk, Chair of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress National Internment Centenary Committee and the Chair of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation introduces the Ukrainian Canadian Congress's National Internment Commemoration program, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of Canada's first national internment operations of 1914 to 1920.

The Archbishop of Winnipeg, Metropolitan Lawrence Huculak of the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Archbishop of Winnipeg and Central Eparchy, His Eminence Metropolitan Yurij Kalistchuk of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, serve a panachyda (requiem) in front of the Internment statue and plaque at the Manitoba Legislature grounds in Winnipeg, Manitoba in memory of those interned during Canada's first national internment operations of 1914 to 1920 and commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of Canada's first national internment operations of 1914 to 1920.

​

Alexandra Chyczij, President of the Ukrainian Canada Congress gives greetings on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the end of Canada's first national internment operations of 1914 to 1920.

On the occasion of  the 100th anniversary of the end of Canada's first national internment operations of 1914 to 1920, Dr. Lubomyr Luciuk, Director of Research, Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association, speaks on the beginning of the redress campaign for Canada's first national internment operations of 1914 to 1920.  

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the end of Canada's first national internment operations of 1914 to 1920, Donna Korchinski speaks on her Grandfather's secret of being an Internee during Canada's first national internment operations of 1914 to 1920.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the end of Canada's first national internment operations of 1914 to 1920, film producer and writer, Ryan Boyko, produce a photo and video montage to commemorate Canada's first national internment operations of 1914 to 1920.

Ilarion (Rudnyk), Bishop of Edmonton and the Western Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, commemorates the 100th anniversary of the End of Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920.

​

​For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

David Motiuk, Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton, commemorates the 100th anniversary of the End of Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920.

​

​For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

Oleksandr Danyleiko, Consul General of Ukraine in Edmonton, commemorates the 100th anniversary of the End of Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920. ​For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

ovel "Enemy Alien: A True Story of Life Behind Barbed Wire", commemorates the 100th anniversary of the End of Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920.

​

For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

Andrew Hladyshevsky, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko, shares the story of how the Ukrainian communities in Canada banded together to reach an agreement with the Federal government to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the End of Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920. ​For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

​This video highlights the two camps that were situated near the town of Banff, Alberta - Castle Mountain & Cave and Basin.
​For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

100th anniversary of the end of Canada’s first national Internment operations of 1914 - 1920.

Sandra Semchuk, author of the book "The Stories Were Not Told: Canada's First World War Internment Camps", introduces a video she made with her late Cree husband, James Nicholas, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the End of Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920. The music in this piece is an original soundtrack by Zeellia (Beverly Dobrinsky and Bessie Wapp). This song was sung by Mrs. W. Luciak in Vegreville, Alberta, in 1965 and was collected by R. Klymasz and published in "An Introduction to Ukrainian-Canadian immigrant Folksong Cycle" (Ottawa: National Museums of Canada, 1970).

​For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

Benjamin Weistra discusses the background of the escape tools used by prisoners of the Lethbridge Internment Camp and how three-dimensional printing and augmented reality displays are being used at the Galt Museum in Lethbridge in children’s education programs and museum exhibits on the First World War internment camps. ​For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

​This video showcases poetry written about Canada’s first national internment operations in 1914–20 and read by young Canadians.

Laisha Rosnau has graciously permitted the use of poems from her award-winning collection Our Familiar Hunger, reprinted here with the consent of the publisher, Nightwood Editions.

Solomiia Myc reads the poem “Spirit Lake.”

Lukian Podilsky shares a Ukrainian-language poem written by Iosef Yasenchuk, who was interned in Melville Island in 1915. The poem was published in the book Kanads'kyi Kobzar (Canadian Kobzar).

Kim Pawliw, the granddaughter of a Spirit Lake internee, presents her own poem in French about her interned grandmother.

Lastly, Daria Podilsky reads Kari Moore’s “Internment Poem.”

For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

Professor Bohdan Kordan, author of many works on internment, reads a selection of excerpts from three publications on Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920. For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

Benjamin Weistra shares the story of William Perchaliuk and commemorates the 100th anniversary of the End of Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920. ​For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

Marsha Skrypuch, author of more than 20 books, shares an excerpt from her novel "Prisoners in the Promised Land" and commemorates the 100th anniversary of the End of Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920.

Dr. Amil Shapka, a Ukrainian Canadian living in St. Paul, Alberta, shares his story about how he discovered Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920. ​For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

​Donna Korchinski, an internee descendent, shares her story about Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920. For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

Jerry Bayrock, an internee descendant, talks about his family history and commemorates the 100th anniversary of the End of Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920. ​For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

Paul Wynnyk, Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs for the Government of Alberta, shares his families history and commemorates the 100th anniversary of the End of Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920. For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

A statement from Jason Kenny, Premier of Alberta, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the End of Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920. For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

Jason Kenny, leader of the UCP party in Alberta at the time of the interview, gave his thoughts on the documentary "That Never Happened" after seeing the film in Calgary, Alberta on October 23, 2018. ​For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

Professor Bohdan Kordan, co-author of "In the Shadow of the Rockies: Diary of the Castle Mountain Internment Camp", speaking on the early days of research regarding the end of Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920. For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

Professor Lubomyr Luciuk speaking on the recovery of memory and the historical markers at the camps.

A reading of the list of all Canadian World War 1 internment camps, also known as labor camps or concentration camps. They will be listed in order of their date of opening. This project was put on by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress - Alberta Provincial Council commemoration the 100th anniversary of the end of Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920. For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

A greeting from Borys Sydoruk, Chair of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress National Internment Centenary Committee and Chair of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the End of Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920. For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

A greeting from Orysia Boychuk, President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress - Alberta Provincial Council, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the End of Canada's First National Internment Operations of 1914-1920. For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council project, please visit https://uccab.ca/internment-100/

Members of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation (UCCLF) and its activist counterpart, the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association (UCCLA), on Sat. Sept. 28, 2019, unveiled Canada’s newest monument dedicated to remembering the country’s first national internment operations, in St. Paul, located 200 kilometres east of Edmonton. Titled 21 Strands, the monument is unique, composing not just a trilingual educational (English-French-Ukrainian) plaque, but also an image of internees standing behind 21 horizontal lengths of Canadian barbed wire.

On June 22, 2019 in Yoho National Park, British Columbia, Parks Canada in cooperation with the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Canada First World War Internment Recognition Fund, unveiled a statue and interpretive panels commemorating the thousands of Ukrainians and other Europeans who were unjustly interned during Canada's first national internment operations of 1914-1920.

Ryan Boyko is the writer and director of the innovative series “The Camps.” He is a multi-award winning visual artist and an accomplished actor. Ryan describes his journey as a filmmaker to share painful yet healing stories of Canada’s forgotten past.

Screening schedule 2018 THAT NEVER HAPPENED: Canada's First National Internment Operations Sept 20 - Geneva, Switzerland - United Naions - Palais de Nations Oct 16 - Ottawa, On - Parliament Hill - Private event for MP's and Senators Oct 21 - Fernie, BC - Vogue Theatre Oct 23 - Calgary, AB - Globe Theatre Oct 27 - Burlington, On - Cinestarz Oct 28 - Mississauga, On - Cinestarz         *National Internment Commemoration Day Nov 8 - Ottawa, On - Bytowne ​Nov 9, 10, 11 - Saskatoon, Sk - Roxy Nov 9, 11, 12 - Edmonton, Ab - Metro Cinema - Nov 9, 9:30 pm - Nov 11, 3pm - Nov 12, 7pm Nov 10, 11 - Regina, Sk - Rainbow  Nov 11 - Winnipeg, Mb - Canadian Museum For Human Rights http://armisticefilms.com/

​

You’ll be amazed to hear about the internment of Canadian citizens during WWI and how it affected the Ukrainian community of Vernon, B.C.

Preview of an interview with Prof. Bohdan Kordan on "No Free Man: Canada, the Great War, and the Enemy Alien Experience", Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, 13 January 2017.

Lubomyr Luciuk, Professor at the Royal Military College of Canada, speaks with The Mark about how Canada's first national internment operations started, and who was affected.

Lubomyr Luciuk, professor at the Royal Military College of Canada, speaks with The Mark on the Redress Movement.

This short documentary produced by students at Wilfred Laurier University explores the commemoration of German and Austro-Hungarians who perished during Canada’s First World War internment operations.

Various members of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund Endowment Council, as well as participants in the 2010 CFWWIRF Kingston Symposium, speak about how to educate the public about the internment of Ukrainian and other Eastern European Canadians between 1914 and 1920.

Marsha Skrypuch, an author and internee descendant, joins The Mark to speak about her grandfather, who was one of thousands of Ukrainians that were interned between 1914 and 1920.

Various members of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund Endowment Council discuss why the public should learn from the past, in order for historical injustices to not be repeated again.

Author Marsha Skypuch talks about the Brantford, Ontario CTO plaque unveiling and the launch of her book Dance of the Banished.

This short documentary produced by students at Wilfred Laurier University explores how embedded racism was in Canadian society during the First World War through an examination of internment operations.

Undergraduate students in Laurentian University's history program created a Heritage Minute that focused on the Ukrainian internment in Canada during the First World War.

​

Marsha Skrypuch, Brantford, Ontario, August 22, 2014

Three plaques were unveiled in Calgary as part of the 100 Plaques Project, a Canada-wide initiative by the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation to pay homage to the thousands of Canadians who were physically interned in camps in 1914-1920.

The Ukrainian Canadian internment was part of the confinement of "enemy aliens" in Canada during and for two years after the end of the First World War, lasting from 1914 to 1920, under the terms of the War Measures Act.

​

Prisoners of Prejudice is a teaching and learning resource designed to give a comprehensive understanding of the internment of Ukrainians in Canada in 1914.

Memorial Service commemorating Canada's first national internment operations, held in Fort Henry, Kingston, Ontario. Speakers include MP Peter Milliken, Ihor Ostash, Tomás Király, and Vesela Mrdjen Korac.

​

Interview by Sandra Semchuk

​

Inky Mark, Member of Parliament, Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, Award Ceremony, Ukrainian Festival, Dauphin, Manitoba 2006 Inky Mark was recognized for his contribution towards having the Canadian Government acknowledge Canada's first national internment operations of 1914-1920.

​

​

Spirit Lake Internment Camp Internee, Mary Manko Haskett, is interviewed on the CBC's "The Journal"