Maan Alhmidi
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
May 27, 2021 - 3:13 PM
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally apologized on Thursday for the internment of Canadians of Italian descent during the Second World War, saying the community has carried the weight of the unjust policy for generations.
He told the House of Commons that internees were business owners, workers, and doctors, but they were taken away to internment camps scattered across Canada.
"Once they arrived at a camp, there was no length of sentence," he said. "Sometimes, the internment lasted a few months. Sometimes, it lasted years. But the impacts â those lasted a lifetime."