Senator Cairine Wilson, chairman of the Canadian National Committee on Refugees, which is at present engaged in a campaign to secure 500,000 signatures to a petition which asks the government to admit more refugees into Canada today issued an appeal to the Canadian people to support the drive. The appeal points out that “it is a myth, which has been often exploded, that refugees have taken jobs away from Canadians.”
Emphasizing that Canada has so far admitted no more than 15,000 persons who escaped from Nazi tyranny, the appeal says: “We can do something more than express our sympathy for the victims and promise retribution for their persecutors. Both are morally important, but neither is enough. If Canada feels her responsibility as a democracy, she will choose the positive path of mercy for the persecuted rather than the merely negative one of punishment for the guilty.”
Concern over the plight of victims of Nazism unable to find refuge in other countries was also expressed by delegates attending the provincial convention of the C.C.F. – Alberta Farmer – Labor party held in Edmonton. The convention promised that the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation will urge the government to make some provision to admit a just share of these refugees and victims of Hitlerism.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
