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More than 60 people gathered at the Alberta legislature Tuesday for a sombre ceremony to mark the anniversary of the Holodomor genocide in Ukraine.

“We must remember the worst of our history in order to realize a better future,” said Robert Wanner, Speaker of the legislative assembly.

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“For generations these inhuman acts were largely … unrecognized outside of the people from the Ukraine,” he told the audience in the rotunda.

In 1932-33, between four and 10 million people died in Ukraine from famine imposed by Josef Stalin’s Soviet regime.

“It is absolutely staggering to think about,” said Deron Bilous, minister of economic development and trade. He spoke about his experience visiting the Ukrainian national museum in Kyiv to honour Holodomor victims.

“It was an extremely painful and difficult experience, but absolutely necessary that the world learn and know about this horrendous genocide.”