nfitz
Superstar
First modern concentration camp in 1914? What baloney ... the British operated concentration camps in the Boer War, and they were hardly new at that time!
First off, it is debatable whether the term "modern concentration camp" should even be used, considering it usually carries with it the perception of extermination or work-to-death.
What happened in Canada was certainly internment, but this on its own was not 'wrong' and was actually covered by the Hague Convention at the time. Looking through some of the history and photos at infoukes.com (the main source of info, it seems) - there is no evidence that these camps were places of abuse. Workers were housed and fed, and while in today's enlightened view these work camps would be unacceptable - internment still goes on and likely always will.
Internment alone is worthy of remembrance. Worthy of a memorial - but are Torontonians so desperate to get UNESCO attention that we're willing to exaggerate history and go grovelling for someone else's approval? Put up a memorial, even make reparations if it gets to that point - but I fail to see how self abasement at the feet of UNESCO is necessary or even worthwhile.
Not the Mongols in their heyday. They just massacred entire cities and towns if they didn't surrender right away.People have been 'concentrated' for one reason or another since the beginning of time.