Relatives of First World War-era internees seek redress from B.C. government

Vernon, B.C. artist Michelle Loughery only found out as an adult about her family’s internment history.

“It was very emotional because it is how we understood why there was so much generational trauma and shame,” said Loughery.

Her great-grandfather and a great-uncle had been interned along with thousands of other Canadian residents of Ukrainian and Eastern European ancestry.

The internees were unfairly labelled “enemy aliens” during and after the First World War and sent to internment camps.

There was a cluster of camps in the B.C. Interior including a facility in Vernon that operated from 1914 to 1920.

Loughery is now part of a group called Descendants of Ukrainian Canadian Victims Association seeking redress from the provincial government for what happened during the internment operations. They are pushing for both recognition and money to create a museum to educate people on the history.

Money for a museum would also be meaningful to Anne Sadelain.  Her father was interned in three B.C. camps, including Vernon, from 1915-1920.

“These people, a lot of them, didn’t understand what they were doing there,” said Sadelain.

“They were extremely worried because they didn’t understand what was happening to them. They had read such wonderful things about Canada and here they were in prison.”

She’d like to see more people learn about this part of Canada’s history.

“It might make people more conscious of their democracy,” said Sadelain.

In a statement, B.C.’s attorney general did not commit to any specific redress but said she is grateful to the Descendants of Ukrainian Canadian Internee Victims Association for their work raising awareness of the unjust internment and would welcome the opportunity to meet with them.