Preamble

WHEREAS the Holocaust refers to the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and genocide of 6 million European Jewish men, women and children by the Nazis and their collaborators between 1933 and 1945;

AND WHEREAS the Nazis also persecuted and murdered many other people because of their physical or mental disabilities, race, religion or sexual orientation;

AND WHEREAS systematic violence, genocide, persecution, racism and hatred continue to occur throughout the world;

AND WHEREAS the government of British Columbia is committed to using legislation, education and example to protect British Columbians from violence, racism and hatred and to stopping those who foster or commit crimes of violence, racism or hatred;

AND WHEREAS the Day of the Holocaust, Yom Ha'Shoah, as determined in each year by the Jewish calendar, is an opportune day to reflect on and educate about the enduring lessons of the Holocaust and to reaffirm a commitment to uphold human rights and to value the diversity and multiculturalism of British Columbian society;

AND THEREFORE HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows: