Alberta legislative assembly marks 85th anniversary of devastating wartime pact

The Alberta legislature on Dec. 10, 2023. (Craig Ellingson/CTV News Edmonton)

The speaker for the Alberta legislature led an annual ceremony Friday afternoon recognizing the millions of victims affected by a wartime pact signed 85 years ago.

Nathan Cooper, the speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, delivered opening remarks in the legislature's rotunda to mark Black Ribbon Day, which is remembered every year on Aug. 23, the day in 1939 when Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, which led to the occupation of several eastern and central European countries and the victimization of millions.

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"The pact was more than a mere diplomatic agreement. It was a harbinger of suffering," Cooper said Friday at the legislature.

"It facilitated the division of eastern Europe and was the catalyst for the catastrophic events that would unfold during World War Two and the decades of Soviet aggression that followed."

He called Black Ribbon Day "a call to recognize and remember the strength of those resisted, the resilience of those who endured and the millions of lives that were lost to these vile regimes."

"Our act of remembrance acknowledges their pain, and perhaps as importantly, reaffirms our commitment to defend freedom and the importance of fighting the blight of totalitarianism wherever it may arise."

Cooper was joined by Alberta Lt.-Gov. Salma Lakhani, UCP MLA Justin Wright on behalf of the provincial government and NDP MLA Sharif Haji on behalf of the Official Opposition to offer remarks, followed by a moment of silence and musical performance.

The federal government in 2009 declared Aug. 23 a national day of remembrance in honour of Black Ribbon Day.