Yellow lights illuminate B.C. landmarks for International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Yellow lights illuminated Vancouver City Hall overnight ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27.
The local landmark is one of 15 in B.C. that are being lit for the 78th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp.
The colour yellow evokes the memorial candles lit in remembrance of Holocaust victims, according to the City of Vancouver, which released a statement of solidarity with the Jewish community on Friday.
“We join with the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre…to pause and remember the six million Jewish lives, the survivors (many living in Vancouver) and the countless others—children, women and men---who were victims of the atrocities carried out by the Nazi regime and its collaborators,” reads the statement.
The centre will be part of the city’s commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day at City Hall at 1:30 p.m., which will also be livestreamed.
Other Vancouver landmarks that will be lit yellow Friday include the airport, Convention Centre, Canada Place, Burrard Street Bridge, Bloedel Conservatory, Bentall Centre and B.C. BC Place. Across the Lower Mainland, include Coquitlam’s Lafarge Lake Fountain and the city halls of North Vancouver and Delta will also pay tribute.
Over on the island, the B.C. Legislature and the city halls of Victoria, Nanaimo and Saanich will shine yellow too.
In a statement issued Friday, the premier said “We can never lose sight of the fact that behind the numbers are real human beings: beloved children, siblings, aunts and uncles, parents and grandparents. Through the stories of survivors and their families, the horrors of the Holocaust will always live on.”
Politicians across the province are posting photos of themselves holding signs reading “We Remember” on social media.
In one tweet, Coquitlam-Maillardville MLA Selina Robinson is pictured with B.C. Energy Minister George Heyman, who she calls a child of survivors.
“We remember the millions of Jews, Roma, LGBTQ2S and others who were murdered because of hate,” Robinson wrote.
The Vancouver Police Department posted a video of its members holding signs as well.
“Together, #WeRemember the past to build a better future and to ensure that #neveragain truly means never again.”
A 2019 study titled “Holocaust Knowledge and Awareness in Canada” found 48 per cent of Canadians believe something similar to the tragic event could happen in other Western democracies today.
According to the survey, 22 per cent of millennials said they haven’t or weren’t sure if they had heard of the Holocaust.
More information on the Holocaust is available on the following websites:
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.