Andrew Seymour/Ottawa Citizen
When the Canadian Senate announced they had accepted a resolution to commemorate April 30 as the “Journey to Freedom Day”, Vietnamese officials were not happy. In fact, the Vietnamese foreign ministry called upon Canada’s ambassador to denounce the move, citing it would negatively affect relations. The Canadian government pressed on.
Boat people leaving the Viet-Nam in South China Sea. Hundreds of former refugees gathered today in front of Canada’s Parliament to thank the government for opening their doors to over 60,000 Vietnamese refugees nearly 40 years ago. (Photo by Michel Setboum/Getty Images)
On Thursday, more than 500 Vietnamese Canadians converged on Parliament Hill to thank Canada for its role in accepting Vietnamese refugees and to remember those who lost their lives in search of freedom. Between 1979 and 1982, Canada opened its doors and accepted over 60,000 refugees.
The Canadian bill, which was proposed by Senator Thanh Hai Ngo, caused ire from the Vietnamese government, mainly for the date chosen, since in Vietnam, April 30 is considered the National Day of Unification. It was originally named “Black April Day Act” but was changed to “Journey to Freedom Day Act”. Community leaders suggested marking July 27 for this remembrance, to coincide with the day the first planeload of Vietnamese refugees came to Toronto but that date was ultimately not used.
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