Gerard Kennedy

MP Calls On Area Residents to Support Poland and Polish Canadians at Time of Grief

(Ottawa) Parkdale-High Park MP Gerard Kennedy today called on constituents to express support for the Republic of Poland and for Polish-Canadians on the national day of mourning, Thursday, April 15th declared for Canada today. The Parkdale-High Park riding has approximately 11,000 Polish-Canadians, the largest number in the country.

Kennedy will host a special book of condolences at his office at 2849 Dundas Street West (just west of Keele) for anyone wishing to express sympathies for the tragedy that took place last week, when an airplane crash claimed the lives of the President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and 85 members of the cabinet, government and military leadership of the country. The book will be available until April 19th and Mr. Kennedy will deliver it to the Polish embassy in Ottawa later next week.

“The whole world owes a great debt to the strength and perseverance of the Polish people and Canada owes much to the Polish-Canadians who helped to build this country. Now we need to come together in support,” Kennedy said. President Kaczyniki was greatly admired by average Poles for his stands on internal and international issues and the first lady visited Canada and the Polish community in Toronto, just last year on May 8, 2009 including a visit to Copernicus Lodge seniors and long term care home on Roncesvalles.

Kennedy also indicated that it is important for non-Polish Canadians to understand the immense symbolic significance of what has occurred for their Polish-Canadian neighbours. Saturday’s crash took place at Katyn, the main site of systematic extermination of Polish leadership by the Soviet Union on a large scale during World War II. The party was travelling to observe the 70th anniversary of the genocide when some 22,000 military, intellectual, clergy and other leaders were killed. For years, the Soviet Union and much of the world community denied recognition of the event and it was kept alive by Poles abroad, particularly in Canada where the monument at the foot of Roncesvalles was the first anywhere on public property.

“Our friends and neighbours include family of the people who were massacred and many veterans of Polish army and Polish resistance who suffered greatly. This second tragedy so many years later is an enormous, almost incomprehensible shock,” Kennedy said.

Liberal members of parliament have been raising statements in the House of Commons daily concerning the tragedy, led off by Leader Michael Ignatieff on Monday. Kennedy will make his statement Wednesday.

“Canadians greatly admire how, from the time of Gdansk to now, the Republic of Poland has become a strong and stable democratic country, and Canada will undoubtedly continue to be a strong friend as it mourns and recovers from this tragic event,” Kennedy added.

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