Canada will formally apologize to the country’s Italian-Canadian community for the way it was treated during the Second World War when some 31,000 Italian-Canadians were declared enemy aliens and 600 Italian-Canadian men were sent to internment camps.
“I’m proud to stand up and say that our government will right these wrongs with a formal apology in the month of May,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons yesterday in reply to a question from Liberal MP Angelo Iacono, while noting that Canadians of Italian heritage “deal with ongoing discrimination related to mistakes made by our governments of the past that that continue to this day.”
A 2017 CBC Doc Project documentary told the story of one of those detainees, Francesco Scappatura, who was taken from his home in North Bay, Ont. in 1940 to an internment camp in Petawawa. Ont., where he was held there with his brother Vincenzo, his brother-in-law Carmine and over 500 other men. The documentary was made by Francesco Scappatura’s granddaughter Angela.
(Photos: courtesy of the Scappatura family)
The announcement marks the second time the Canadian government has attempted to make amends for its behaviour during the Second World War.
Trudeau did not say Wednesday whether there will be compensation with the formal apology, which will “pay tribute to and honour the families of each of the 600 interned as an act of respect and an acknowledgment that an injustice happened,” according to a government news release.
“During the Second World War, hundreds of Italian-Canadians were interned for the simple reason that they were of Italian heritage,” Iacono told the Commons.
“Parents were taken away from their homes, leaving children without their fathers in many cases and families without a paycheque to put food on their tables. Lives and careers, businesses and reputations were interrupted and ruined, and yet no one was held responsible.
“Italian-Canadians have lived with these memories for many years and they deserve closure.”
The RCMP held a ceremony in Ottawa on Sept. 18, 2018 to plant a tree and express their regret for their role in arresting hundreds of Italian-Canadians during the Second World War. (RCMP)
A joint statement from 10 Italian-Canadian members of Parliament, including Justice Minister David Lametti and Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino, said many residents suffered irrevocable harm.
“They may have been Italian by heritage, but they were Canadians first. We as Italian Members of Parliament thank those members before us who brought attention to this injustice and helped bring this apology to fruition for these families in our Italian-Canadian communities.”
About 1.6 million Canadians of Italian origin live in Canada.
It is one of the largest Italian diasporas in the world.
With files from The Canadian Press, CBC News
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