Inauguration Ceremony for the Memorial to the Victims of Communism in Ottawa on December 12, 2024

Canada’s Memorial To The Victims of Communism, located on the west side of the Garden of the Provinces and Territories, was finally unveiled in downtown Ottawa yesterday.

The national memorial – “Memorial to the Victims of Communism – Canada, a Land of Refuge” – stands as a powerful reminder of the millions who suffered and/or perished under oppressive communist regimes from around the world. It honors Canada’s legacy as a land of refuge, where an estimated 8 million people fleeing injustice and persecution or tracing their origins to countries under communist rule have found safety, hope and opportunity. It symbolizes resilience and the enduring commitment to freedom, democracy, justice and human rights that define Canada’s spirit. Finally, it will hopefully remind younger and future generations to continue fighting for those values and rights and to avoid allowing history to repeat itself.

The ceremony was attended by over 100 invited guests and onlookers, including members of the Board of Directors of Tribute to Liberty (TTL), government officials, several Ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps, the Memorial design team (Paul Raff Studio), and members of the affected communities, among others.

At the ceremony, the “Arc of Memory”, the centrepiece of the Memorial, was unveiled. It includes an array of more than 4,000 metal rods configured on two gently curved wall-like frames intended to express the vastness of people who suffered under communist regimes.

Notwithstanding the many challenges that have faced this project along the way, it was great to see a joint and collaborative effort among a number of the affected communities in Canada, whose members formed the Board of Directors of Tribute to Liberty, which spearheaded the endeavour. The Board is led by Ludwik Klimkowski (Polish community) as Chair and Alide Forstmanis as Treasurer (Latvian community), and including Teresa Berezowski (Polish community), Christine Dang (Vietnamese community), Ivan Grbešić (Croatian community), Paul Grod (Ukrainian community), Marcus Kolga (Estonian community), Byon Gil Ron Suh (Korean community), and Robert Tmej (Czech community).

Also in attendance was the Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia, Vice Skračić. Based on an agreement negotiated between the Government of Croatia and the Canadian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the Government of Croatia donated $25,000 towards the Memorial and its name will be etched on the front of the Memorial along with that of the “Croatian Parishes and Community of Canada” (representing a donation from our Croatian community in Canada) and the other major donors that contributed to this project.

While there is still much work ahead in order to finalize the Memorial, including the completion of the vetting process by Canadian Heritage relating to the victims’ names that are intended to appear on the Wall of Remembrance, it is great for the fence surrounding the Memorial to have been removed and for members of the broader public to have access to the site and the park surrounding it.

Although members of our Croatian community in Canada (many of whom fled Tito’s communist Yugoslavia) and people of their generation from other affected communities were able to enjoy the Memorial being finally unveiled, it was also broadcast over live video coverage and can be viewed here – Inauguration Ceremony for the Memorial to the Victims of Communism | Headline Politics | CPAC.ca