Bill C-461

1st Session, 39th Parliament,

55-56 Elizabeth II, 2006-2007

house of commons of canada

BILL C-461

An Act to recognize the injustice that was done to persons of Italian origin through their “enemy alien” designation and internment during the Second World War, and to provide for restitution and promote education on Italian-Canadian history

WHEREAS persons of Italian origin have made and continue to make an extraordinary contribution to the building of the Canadian nation;

WHEREAS, despite this contribution, many persons of Italian origin were unjustly registered and interned by the Government of Canada during the Second World War solely because of their ethnic origin;

WHEREAS these persons were, while interned, made to labour for Canada without pay on projects such as road construction and the clearing of land;

AND WHEREAS it is necessary and timely for these injustices to be publicly recognized and for appropriate restitution to be made in the form of public education;

NOW, THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

1. This Act may be cited as the Italian-Canadian Recognition and Restitution Act.

RECOGNITION AND APOLOGY

2. The Parliament of Canada hereby recognizes and honours the contribution that persons of Italian origin have made and continue to make to the building of Canada.

3. The Parliament of Canada hereby acknowledges the unjust treatment received by persons of Italian origin as a result of their designation as “enemy aliens”, their registration and internment and other infringements of their rights during the Second World War, and apologizes on behalf of Parliament, the Government of Canada and the Canadian people of earlier times and of today for the suffering that this treatment caused.

RESTITUTION

4. (1) The Minister of Canadian Heritage, in cooperation with the Minister of Finance, shall negotiate with the National Congress of Italian Canadians an agreement for a suitable payment to be made in restitution for the unjust treatment described in section 3, which agreement shall be proposed to Parliament for approval.

(2) If the agreement referred to in subsection (1) is approved by Parliament, the restitution payment shall be applied to

(a) the establishment, as agreed among the parties referred to in subsection (1), of an educational foundation that has as its objectives the development and production of educational materials that will provide information on Italian-Canadian history and promote ethnic and racial harmony, and the distribution of those materials to schools, colleges, universities, museums, community centres and cultural centres; and

(b) any other educational projects relating to the contribution of persons of Italian origin to Canadian society that are agreed to by the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the foundation.

POSTAGE STAMPS

5. The Minister of National Revenue shall instruct the Canada Post Corporation to issue a stamp or set of stamps to commemorate the internment of persons of Italian origin during the Second World War.