This month, the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association is requesting the intervention of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Mélanie Joly, to protect a cemetery containing the remains of 16 people who died at the Spirit Lake camp.

One of three internment camps in Quebec, the Spirit Lake camp was part of a national campaign to register an estimated 80,000 people and imprison 8,579 throughout the country. The majority of those who were interned were of Ukrainian heritage, from a region that was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Spirit Lake camp would become the second largest of Quebec’s internment camps, as a result of the War Measures Act, and prejudice and panic during World War I.

Spirit Lake internee cemetery

Established by the Government of Canada in 2008, the Endowment Council of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund “has a formal mandate to secure and restore internee cemeteries.”

The council has done so successfully in Kapuskasing, Ontario and Fernie, British Columbia. According to a press release, “The Council has not, however, been able to acquire, repair, or re-consecrate the Spirit Lake internee cemetery, despite having made repeated inquiries over eight years, during which time the internee cemetery has further deteriorated.”

The land on which the cemetery is located was acquired in 1988 by a farming couple. Efforts made by the Spirit Lake Camp Corporation to incorporate the internee cemetery, or at least restore and secure limited rights of access, have been rebuffed by the owners.

Conditions in the camp

In an email to The Daily, Yurij Luhovy, an award-winning producer and director of Okradena Zemlya (“Stolen Land”), a documentary on the Holodomor 1932-33 famine-genocide in Soviet Ukraine, spoke about the conditions in the camps.

“It was grueling, strenuous hard work. Internees were used for hard labour with little pay. What little wealth some had, was confiscated. Some were bayonetted. Many suffered from accidents while cutting the wood,” he wrote.

“There was a pre-existing prejudice against these people in Canadian society that was exacerbated by war-time [panic].”

“[Internees] were forced not only to maintain the camps but to work for private concerns. Often they were mistreated by the guards. These harsh conditions and forced confinement took not only a physical but a mental toll on the internees,” he continued.

Lubomyr Luciuk, author and professor at the Royal Military College of Canada, told The Daily, “There was a pre-existing prejudice against these people in Canadian society that was exacerbated by war-time [panic].”

James Slobodian, chair of the Spirit Lake Center, told The Daily, “The people arrived on the first of January, 1915, in the cold. […] They left on the 28th of January, 1917, also in the winter.” He mentioned that “some were transferred to Kapuskasing, another camp, others were transferred down the Nova Scotia way.”

Legacy of internment

Canada’s World War I internment operations started in 1914 and ended in 1920, despite the war ending in 1918.

Luhovy wrote that, “Those that were interned felt humiliated, confused, not understanding why they were labelled ‘enemy aliens.’”

“Most of the people who went through the internment operations didn’t speak about it except perhaps in their own families.”

“As for the other Canadians, some were understanding and sympathetic to what the Ukrainians and others had endured, being unjustly interned,” he added. “Others, held an anti-immigrant feeling toward new immigrants arriving in Canada.”

Luciuk commented that “Most of [those who were interned] that I did get the chance to speak to said they preferred not to refer to or remember, most of the people who went through the internment operations didn’t speak about it except perhaps in their own families.”

In 2005, the Canadian government adopted the Internment of Persons of Ukrainian Origin Recognition Act, followed by the Canada First World War Internment Recognition Fund in 2008.

On the relationship between the Ukrainian Canadian community and the rest of Canada today, Luhovy wrote that it was very positive. He noted, however, that “It is important we know all aspects of Canadian history, and try to avoid making similar mistakes in the future.”

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Résistance Animale is a non-hierarchical collective whose main objective is to increase awareness about veganism while working to abolish speciesism, the belief that other animal species are inferior to human beings and that they can be used for the benefit of people without regard for their suffering.

As stated in French in the description on its Facebook page, the organization is also supportive of movements that fight against various forms of oppression and discrimination, such as sexism, racism, homophobia, and fascism.

“We had to go further to defend animals, of course, but not just cats and dogs.”

Speaking to The Daily in French, Daniel Roy, the organizer of the vigil, said, “In the beginning, I thought that an organization needed to be created, which would come to be Résistance Animale, because we had to go further to defend animals, of course, but not just cats and dogs.”

Beside a table full of informational materials, people held signs and pickets, saying “Ce n’est pas de la nourriture, c’est de la violence” (“This is not food, this is violence”), and “Mettez fin au spécisme, go végane” (“End speciesism, go vegan”). Some of the signs included photos of various animals in captivity.

Reginald Beauchamp, a participant at the vigil, told The Daily in French, “[The atmosphere] was wonderful. We had lots of people. People who passed by were really sympathetic. They smiled and asked us questions, which stimulated growth [of the crowd].”

“There are lots of people who come [to one event], then [come] back and tell me, ‘Well, I became vegan.’”

Marie-Joie Renaud, another participant, agreed. “It’s always a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere,” Renaud said.
Speaking on the importance of organizing such events, Roy said, “For me they’re important for raising awareness. […] They open people’s minds. And there are lots of people who come [to one event], then [come] back and tell me, ‘Well, I became vegan.’”

Asked why he attended the event, Beauchamp responded, “To raise awareness amongst people about speciesism, so that people finally understand that animals are not objects, they’re not here to serve us. They’re just like us. We’re all living beings together.”

Beauchamp also said, “Cows are raped every year and artificially inseminated, and next we steal their babies and we steal their milk and when they start to produce less milk around the age of four, we send them to the slaughterhouse. […] Cows normally live 25, 30 years, but they live [only] around four years because of this.”

“Cows normally live 25, 30 years, but they live [only] around four years because of this.”

According to Animal Defenders International (ADI), cattle raised for beef are sent to slaughter even earlier than dairy cows, at 10 to 12 months of age. Furthermore, ADI explains that cows usually “lactate for around ten to thirteen months after they have given birth. The cows are therefore re-impregnated approximately 60 days after giving birth to continue the cycle of milk production.”

Discussing the vegan movement in Montreal, Renaud said, “I’m a little discouraged that [the number of vegans is] such a small percentage. […] It happens one by one – one person at a time becomes aware.”

Roy noted, “I find that it’s in the process of development. […] But raising awareness [… is] a lot of work, like we’re doing presently.”

According to Roy, Résistance Animale will organize similar events every three weeks. Their next one is scheduled for February 6 in the same location, in front of the Mont-Royal metro station.

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The Climate Welcome was planned by groups throughout Canada, but was supported primarily by 350.org, the Council of Canadians, and the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition. In an interview with The Daily, Kristen Perry, a U4 Environment student and Divest McGill organizer, explained that the demonstrators’ “main demand for real climate action was to freeze tar sands expansion and to start the transition to a just and renewable energy economy.”

Transportation from Montreal to Ottawa was organized by Divest McGill, a campus environmental justice group, bringing students and members of the community to Trudeau’s residence. The McGill participants returned to Montreal on November 6 and November 7, even though the sit-in lasted until November 8.

“Immediately after [the federal elections] we wanted to welcome whoever was coming into office with a Climate Welcome, showing them that the climate movement is big and growing.”

Each day, the demonstrators delivered different sets of ‘gifts’ to Trudeau, in an effort to demand that he take real action on climate change. On the first day, Trudeau was given scientific studies, economic reports, and Indigenous treaties, all of which indicated that the tar sands need to remain underground.

In the following days, the gifts were expanded to include over one million messages from Canadians against tar sands expansion and pipelines, as well as water samples from various communities across the country. On the last day, the demonstrators delivered five solar panels.

Jed Lenestky, a U1 Environment student and Divest McGill organizer, told The Daily, “The only presents that were accepted were on the first day.” The messages, however, were both emailed to the Prime Minister and sent by mail on a USB stick.

Perry expressed that throughout the election period the demonstators’ “goal was to make climate change more of an issue in the election campaign.”

“[Trudeau is] planning to go to the international climate talks [in Paris] without any target essentially. He’s using [former Prime Minister] Stephen Harper’s target, which is completely inadequate.”

“Immediately after [the federal elections] we wanted to welcome whoever was coming into office with a Climate Welcome, showing them that the climate movement is big and growing,” Perry said. “We wanted to be there to show [Trudeau] that we would support him in taking climate action.”

Perry continued, “[Trudeau is] planning to go to the international climate talks [in Paris] without any target essentially. He’s using [former Prime Minister] Stephen Harper’s target, which is completely inadequate. He said he needs to consult with the provinces which, of course, is a good thing. […] But right now he doesn’t have a target. […] We’re trying to push him, but also support him because he has the potential, I think, to be a leader in climate change action.”

The first day of action

Speaking to The Daily, Andrew Stein, a U3 Environment student and Divest McGill organizer, summarized the action on November 5, the main day on which McGill participants were active.

“We marched down to 24 Sussex. Upon arriving, we split into two groups. Half of us [held a sit-in] in front of 24 Sussex, [and] half of us [held a sit-in] in front of Rideau Cottage. We voiced our demands to the Prime Minister’s office and then we converged on Rideau Hall when the executive assistant to the Prime Minister was sent down to speak with us,” Stein said.

According to Stein, demonstrators then proceeded to escalate their tactics.

“We blocked […] Sussex Drive, at which point we were informed by the police that we were trespassing and officially risking arrest. However, they were on marching orders not to arrest anyone for this kind of basic civil disobedience. […] We stayed in the street for a while, sang some songs, did some chants, demonstrated our presence, and then we took off and called it a day.”

“We blocked […] Sussex Drive, at which point we were informed by the police that we were trespassing and officially risking arrest.”

Perry added, “After we were out there sitting for about two hours on the road itself, we got the news that the police actually weren’t going to arrest us as long as we sat there, and the Prime Minister wasn’t going to come down for the day. So we decided at that point [that] we’d de-escalate for the day and come back with even more people the next day.”

On why he chose to attend, Lenetsky replied, “I think climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing the world.”

“[Trudeau] made this promise of real change and I wanted to help hold him to that. […] Every day we were there, the next day we came out with twice as many people. […] Every day we’re growing, this issue isn’t going to go away. […] We’re not going to go away and we’re going to keep fighting until we get what we want,” Lenetsky concluded.

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