Co-sponsored by the NDP’s Cheri DiNovo and the Progressive Conservative Frank Klees, Levac’s private member’s bill was the first tri-party bill to be passed in Ontario’s legislature.

Levac is proud his bill brought the legislature together, and that it brought together Catholic and Orthodox Ukrainians.

“I met with religious leaders of both. They were there from the beginning,” said Levac, recalling the two-year effort to have the bill passed. “They always showed up in harmony, shared blessings and shared prayers. The one thing they did not abandon was the reality of what Stalin did.”

For the Ukrainian community, the fact Holodomor Memorial Day is officially recognized in Ontario is extremely important, said Fr. Hladio Bohdan, pastor of St. John’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Oshawa, Ont., and chair of the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress of Durham Region.

“When something evil happens, it’s very important to shine the light on it,” said Bohdan. “What’s Confession all about? You shine the light of Christ on the nasty things and the light of Christ destroys them.”

By recognizing the Holodomor, Ontario puts some flesh on the idea Canada is a multicultural society, said Levac.

“We recognize, acknowledge and respect what the Ukrainian people went through to maintain themselves as a nation. It’s an acknowledgement of history,” he said. “It also signals that we do have this respect for multiculturalism.”