REGINA – At the legislature Tuesday, MLAs and guests braved the ice and snow to remember those who died during the Holodomor.

The Holodomor, the Ukrainian word for “extermination by hunger,” was a Soviet-engineered famine that took place in 1932-33. The famine resulted in the deaths of millions of Ukrainian people.

Ceremonies took place at the Legislature in advance of International Holodomor Day on Nov. 23. At the legislature rotunda, a memorial service was held, followed by the laying of wreaths at the statue commemorating the Holodomor victims — a reproduction of the statue “Bitter Memories of Childhood” by sculptor Preto Drozdowsky. Premier Scott Moe and former Deputy Premier Ken Krawetz were among those who laid wreaths.

Krawetz, now Honorary Counsul of Ukraine, said he was honoured that the province has chosen to recognize the genocide. 

“We were the first province in Canada to recognize that this was a genocide. And in 2008, the Holodomor Act was passed, and I was part of that,” Krawetz said.

“So for the government to continue with a service like you saw today, I think it shows the appreciation to the Ukrainian pioneers that have been here for 100 years plus, and continue to come. We have many displaced Ukrainians that have arrived in the last 10 years, since the war started in Crimea in 2014, and they continue to come. As Honorary Counsul, I’m extremely pleased that the government of Saskatchewan continues to do this.”

For the third year in a row, the ceremony was held in the backdrop of the ongoing invasion by Russia of Ukraine, with that occupation now a thousand days old.

“I guess I’m disappointed that it is a thousand days, because I did not believe after the first pushback by Ukrainians to stop the invasion by the Russians, I believed that it would end much sooner, that there would be much more assistance from nations, especially Western nations, that would force the Russians to understand that Ukraine is a democratic country, and that we must preserve that nation as a democracy. So I’m disappointed that it’s been a thousand days. There are thousands, literally tens of thousands of people that have died, and I believe they have died needlessly.”

Krawetz had harsh words for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“This is a tyrant, who believes, in my opinion, believes that he wants to recreate the USSR. And if he was fortunate in conquering Ukraine, I believe that there are many other nations in Europe that would be next.”

As for the current political situation, Krawetz expressed his concerns.

“I believe that the European nations recognize how important it is. And there’s been a lot of discussion, as you’ve seen in the last two weeks, ever since the election in the United States. There’s been much more discussion about what role those nations have to play. And I think the success for Ukraine is going to be dependent on that. Whether or not there is a European Union that is going to be standing behind Ukraine, whether indeed there’s going to be an application to NATO that might be further enhanced, those are things that I think are going to have to replace that uncertainty about whether or not other nations will continue their support of Ukraine.”

As for what this ceremony means to Saskatchewan people:

“We just had an election in the province of Saskatchewan, and there were many newly elected members, both on the government side and the opposition side. I saw many of them here today, learning for the first time, learning about the Holodomor.

“And I think the fact that the statue that’s here, and I know there’s literally hundreds and hundreds of people that stop there on a regular basis during the year, that shows the rest of the world and maybe the rest of Canada that Saskatchewan is a place where we recognize the importance of immigration, we recognize the importance of Ukrainians coming to Canada.”