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What should Canadians think about the monuments, though?

“I think the question that Canadians really need to ask is, does the presence of these monuments in any way contribute to anti-Semitism, or to other forms of racism or bigotry in Canada today?”said Aidan Fishman, the interim director of the Jewish-Canadian organization B’nai Brith Canada’s League for Human Rights.

The answer seems to be “no,” Fishman explained, since “the intent of these monuments is not to stir up hatred or to glorify crimes against Jews.” While B’nai Brith wouldn’t support any new such monuments, he said, it doesn’t see a need to demand for existing ones’ removal.

“I think that the communities that have established these monuments, so namely the Ukrainian-Canadian community, should take a critical look at these facts and should remind themselves that many of these people were engaged in collaboration with the Nazis,” said Fishman. “And that may change the way that these people are portrayed and perceived in their own community.”

Michalchyshyn rejects outright, however, any insinuation that Ukrainians collaborated with Nazi Germany during the Second World War. “I think that the premise of calling them Nazi collaborators is slanderous. And our community honours our dead, and our veterans, and we’re very disappointed that the story continues to be propagated in support of Russian disinformation,” he said.

We're very disappointed that the story continues to be propagated in support of Russian disinformation

“I think the real story here is about the Russian Embassy and what they’re trying to do to our community and how they’re trying to create an issue where there isn’t one.”