October 9, 2019

TORONTO-  The Central and Eastern European Council in Canada, representing the interests of over 4 million Canadians of Central and Eastern European heritage, is deeply concerned by the City of Toronto’s decision to reject an application to have a street inside a park in North Toronto, named in honor of assassinated Russian human rights and democracy activist and leader, Boris Nemtsov, and calls on Mayor John Tory and City Councillors to overturn the decision.

The application by the CEEC which was supported by the Raoul Wallenberg Center, was denied, according to city staff, due to negative feedback during a public consultation period in the summer and the risk of causing geopolitical issues.

The yet unnamed street, inside Earl Bales Park, was chosen due to its proximity to the Russian community in Toronto. The proposal has received wide and diverse community support and has been supported by hundreds who signed a petition in support of the initiative.

Boris Nemtsov was a leading human rights and democracy activist in Russia. He was critical of the Putin regime’s corrupt, repressive oligarchy and Russia’s illegal invasion and annexation of Crimea. 

Since his assassination, Muscovites have placed flowers, pictures and other objects on the bridge to memorialize Nemtsov and his legacy of fighting for freedom and democracy for all Russian. Tragically, Russian authorities have rejected a permanent memorial to Nemtsov, in efforts to erase his legacy activism and sacrifice.

“Boris Nemtsov built bridges between Central and Eastern European nations and communities, as well as Canada and his legacy continues to be a beacon of hope for regional stability, cooperation and peace,” said CEEC President, Marcus Kolga. “It’s clear that the Russian Embassy and Consulate in Toronto would seek to undermine our street naming proposal by any means at their disposal, including the types of operations which are commonly associated with the Putin regime, all of which are intended to intimidate city officials into rejecting this very Canadian proposal, to honor a fallen international human rights hero.”

The CEEC was only notified about the City’s public consultation website for the proposal days before it closed. The survey itself was anonymous and open to meddling through the simple task of masking of IPs.

The CEEC calls on community members to write to their local councillors and the mayor to express their support for Boris Nemtsov Way in Earl Bales Park, and for the Mayor and Council to reconsider and overturn the decision to reject this important proposal. On October 9, 2019, Boris Nemtsov would have celebrated his 60th birthday.

For more information: ceecouncilcanada@gmail.com

TORONTO – Members of the Central and Eastern European communities today remember the millions of victims of Soviet and Nazi terror in Europe.

On August 23, 1939, Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin formally conspired to tear Europe in half when they signed a non-aggression pact and its secret protocols, whereby they agreed to divide Europe among them. Thus began the Second World War. The unprecedented scale of terror, bloodshed and violent repression that the Nazi-Soviet pact unleashed has forever scarred Europe and the millions of victims, many of whom escaped to Canada and still live here today.

In 2009, a resolution was adopted by the Parliament of Canada making August 23rd a National Day of Remembrance for the European victims of Nazism and communism, known as Black Ribbon Day.

“The families of millions of Canadians fled Soviet and Nazi terror in the 1940s and ‘50s, arriving in Canada as refugees,” said Central and Eastern European Council in Canada President, Marcus Kolga.  “The trauma that they endured at the hands of the Nazi and Soviet regimes continues to be passed along through generations and it is critically important that we never forget the terror inflicted on the millions of victims by these two authoritarian regimes, fascist and communist.”

A major international conference is being planned for September 12 at the University of Toronto’s Isabel Bader Theatre, where chess grandmaster, pro-democracy activist and Russian opposition leader, Garry Kasparov, will deliver the keynote address. A panel discussion about the legacy of the Nazi-Soviet Pact today, featuring international experts and political leaders, including former Canadian Justice Minister and international human rights advocate, Irwin Cotler, and former Liberal leader Bob Rae – who introduced the parliamentary motion to make Black Ribbon Day a national day of remeberence. Registration for the event can be completed here: https://nazi-sovietpact80.eventbrite.ca Doors will open for the event at 6pm.

It is of critical importance that Canada and the world remember this deadly pact between Hitler and Stalin which helped facilitate the start of the Second World War and left many millions of people under Soviet occupation for decades to come.  

The Central and Eastern European Council in Canada represents the interests of over 4 millions Canadians of CEE heritage.