Ottawa, ON – The Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the Official Opposition, released the following statement on Yom HaShoah: 

“Today is Yom HaShoah – a day where people in Israel, Canada and around the world stop and reflect upon the horror of the Holocaust. 

“It is a day where we honour the lives of over six million Jews who were murdered in an act of vile evil that defies our comprehension. We celebrate the heroes who put their lives on the line to rescue Jews fleeing from the hatred of the Nazis, and we commemorate the survivors, many of whom have bravely told their stories, so that we might begin to grasp the scale of this disaster. 

“On the Hebrew calendar, Yom HaShoah marks the day when over 700 Jewish insurgents rose up against the tyranny of the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. These heroes stood up against overwhelming odds to save their loved ones from being abducted and deported to the death camp of Treblinka.  

“Today, as we pay tribute to their legacy, we must recognize that the fight against antisemitism is not over – even here in Canada. Violent attacks against Jews have increased in recent years. Israel is demonized for defending itself against terrorist attacks. There are even those shameful few, who would deny the reality of the Holocaust.  

“It is our duty, now more than ever, to stand up to these attacks. We must never allow the severity of the Holocaust to be diminished. Instead, as we stand with our Jewish friends and neighbours in solemn remembrance of the millions who were so unjustly killed, we must rededicate ourselves to eradicating this hatred.  

“Never again.”