WHEREAS the Holocaust haShoah refers to a specific historical event, the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation of European Jewry by the Nazis and their collaborators between 1933-1945; and

WHEREAS during the Holocaust haShoah six million Jews were murdered; and

WHEREAS further atrocities were planned, organized and carried out in occupied Europe by Nazi civil and military authorities and their collaborators, victimizing Jews and many others on the grounds of race, colour, religion, national origin, ancestry, place of origin, physical disability, mental disability, political belief or sexual orientation; and

WHEREAS during the Second World War, Canada, in its role as an Allied Nation, fought to defeat the Third Reich in a prolonged struggle, costly in human life and suffering and in which New Brunswick citizens participated with bravery and heroism; and

WHEREAS in the midst of battle, soldiers from New Brunswick witnessed firsthand the atrocities of the Holocaust haShoah as they liberated the concentration and death camps and ushered to freedom the few survivors, some of whom later found refuge and a new life in our Province; and

WHEREAS to commemorate all victims of the Holocaust haShoah, as well as to honour those who fought to defeat tyranny and genocide so that all might flourish with dignity in freedom and in justice, it is most fitting to dedicate a special day to remember for the future, to join in covenant with one another and to vow “Never Again!”; and

WHEREAS such a day would provide an opportunity to reflect on and educate about the enduring lessons of the Holocaust. This day shall also provide an opportunity to consider other instances of systematic destruction of peoples, human rights issues and the multicultural reality of modern society;

THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows: