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| Canadian Press |
Saturday, November 12, 2005
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MONTREAL (CP) - Prime Minister Paul Martin made amends to Italian-Canadians on Saturday for internments during the Second World War, acknowledging what he called "a dark chapter in our history."
They were "treated in a manner we know to be offensive," Martin told members of Montreal's Italian community.
Martin signed a $2.5-million deal to fund projects to commemorate the arbitrary interning of about 700 Italian-Canadians during the war.
The money is part of a larger program to compensate ethnic groups who suffered from ill-treatment at the hands of the federal government.
Martin said the internments "were motivated by fear and suspicion" and the government "is committed to learning from the past."
"Today, we are facing up to a dark chapter in our history."
But the prime minister didn't offer an outright apology or financial compensation for survivors as some in the Italian community had wanted.
"In every way large and small, Italian-Canadians have enriched our country," said Martin.
The prime minister spoke privately with several members of the Italian community, including 93-year-old Antonio Capobianco, the oldest living Italian-Canadian to have been interned.
"To hear that a Canadian, someone who was born here, could be incarcerated by the government, defies understanding," Martin said.
"When you want to know about the Italian spirit and the Italian contribution to this country, think about Antonio Capobianco, who was incarcerated, whose loyalty to this country was called into question yet has given his life to this country."
Martin then led a round of applause for him.
Despite being honoured by the prime minister, Capobianco said the deal was too late.
"I don't feel too good about it," Capobianco said after Martin left the room.
"Two-a-half million dollars doesn't pay nothing," he said, noting that the local Italian-Canadian hospital had cost $5 million to build years ago.
Asked which party he belonged to now, Capobianco answered: "Conservative."
However, several Italian-Canadian organizations welcomed the agreement and called it a "historic day" for their community.
But Vic Capozzi, a business consultant, also said the compensation is overdue.
"It's very, very late," said the 68-year-old. "It should have been done a long time ago."
"They made people go and report every month, even young girls. My father had three kids, two in action (in the war) and they made him go and report. It was just wrong," he said.
The National Congress of Italian Canadians was pleased with the agreement.
"This is a historic day for our community: we begin the important task of educating present and future generations about the evolution of the Italian community in Canada," said Dominic Campione, president of congress.
"The internment of Italians during the Second World War is a dark page in Canadian history and this agreement-in-principle allows our community the ability to ensure not only that these events will never be forgotten, but that they will never be repeated," he said in a statement.
Heritage Minister Liza Frulla, whose grandfather was among those interned, broke down in tears during the ceremony.
The payment to the Italian-Canadian community is part of a $25-million announcement in the last federal budget to make amends for wrongs done by the government to a variety of groups over the years.
Those groups include Italian-Canadians, Ukrainians interned during the First World War and Chinese Canadians forced to pay a discriminatory head tax in the early 1900s.
Martin rejected a suggestion the announcement was the start of an election campaign.
"This announcement has been planned for a very long time, and this is the result."
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