JTA, The Times of Israel
September 28, 2017
MONTREAL — Canada inaugurated a national Holocaust memorial in Ottawa as its government reportedly readied itself to formally apologize for turning away 900 European Jews from its shores on the eve of the Holocaust.
The National Holocaust Monument – a stark, stylized Star of David in form — took a decade to complete at a cost of $7.2 million split between private and public donors.
“May this monument remind us to always open our arms and our hearts to those in need,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday at the opening.
The unveiling of the memorial, which is located across from the Canadian War Museum, is being seen as historic. Canada was the sole Allied nation not to have a national Holocaust memorial.
An Ottawa university student in 2007 noted the lack of a national Holocaust memorial and worked toward legislation that made the monument possible.