On April 24, the Armenian community of Ontario and Canada commemorated the 108thanniversary of the Armenian genocide which took place in the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923. Some 1.5 million Armenians perished in one of the first genocides of the 20th century. I am the grandson of survivors of the Armenian and the Greek genocides.

Armenians will never forget that during their darkest hours Canadians stood by the survivors. The Armenian Relief Association of Canada, under the patronage of Governor General Byng, Archbishop Neil McNeil, venerable Archdeacon Cody, Colonel Sir Henry Pellatt, and other prominent Canadians raised $300,000 to feed, clothe and house the refugees. Toronto’s the Globe spearheaded the campaign to raise funds for the “starving Armenians.” Furthermore, the association brought 109 orphan boys to Canada and resettled them on a farm near Georgetown. At the same time, nurse Sara Corning of Nova Scotia saved 5,000 Armenian and Greek orphans from slaughter in the city of Smyrna.

In keeping with the tradition of our forbearers and Canada’s first international humanitarian mission—