Today marks Yom ha-Shoah, the solemn commemoration of the brutal murder and discrimination endured by the Jewish people during the Holocaust. Almost every Jewish person out there has a story of a family member who endured the Holocaust, including myself.

There’s a park that borders my riding dedicated to a well-known Holocaust survivor, Felix Opatowski. At 15, Felix risked his life and smuggled goods out of Nazi ghettos in exchange for food for his family. After being deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in 1943, he joined the Polish underground as a runner and later helped plan an attempt to demolish the camp’s crematorium.

Not long ago, I attended the premiere for the Legacy Portrait Project documentary, where Holocaust survivors spoke of their experiences with their grandchildren. These conversations filmed in the documentary capture a moment in time, a glimpse into the individual triumph of each survivor, having prevailed over adversity by building families and finding love and joy after the Holocaust.

One in three students in Canada believe the Holocaust was fabricated or exaggerated, and 42% of students have explicitly seen an anti-Semitic incident in their school.

I’m looking forward to September of this year, when the new Holocaust curriculum will be officially launched in schools all over this province. Learning and listening to these stories of the Holocaust is crucial because those who fail—

On April 2, we celebrate Education and Sharing Day to honour the work and teachings of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Established in 1978, it pays tribute to his endless commitment for better education for the children of North America.

The seventh leader in the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, Rabbi Schneerson was born in Ukraine in 1902 and moved to New York to escape the Holocaust.

If the Holocaust showed the world the evil of which human beings are capable, the Rebbe reminds us of what good people we can be.

He was devoted to teaching the infinite value of every human life and the practice of loving your neighbour. The Rebbe inspired millions, not only with his wise words, but with his actions.

He created a global network of Chabad emissaries in over 100 countries, offering social service programs and humanitarian aid all around the world.

A tireless advocate for youth, he promoted education as a cornerstone of humanity, and in an era when a woman’s education was not valued the same as a man’s, the Rebbe staunchly created more educational opportunities for girls. He was even known to write, “There must be a girl!” on educational materials that only depicted boys.

April 2 will mark the Rebbe’s 121st birthday. In Hebrew, we say, “Ad meah v’esrim,” which means “until 120.”

The Rebbe may not have reached 120, but his legacy certainly lives on.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak about this vital issue that deserves further attention. Students and families in my riding have been negatively impacted by anti-Semitic hatred and discrimination, whether in our schools or public settings. All students deserve the opportunity to learn free from hate and discrimination, especially the students from my riding. To take meaningful action in combatting what’s happening today, we must ensure that young people in this province are aware of the past. This includes Jewish history, culture, perspectives and contributions to Canada.

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Education: Why was it only our government that recognized the urgency in taking immediate action by expanding Holocaust education in the curriculum?