C. In 1939, the ocean liner St. Louis set sail from Hamburg, Germany to Havana, Cuba, carrying more than 900 Jewish refugees attempting to escape Nazi Germany. The vessel was turned away by the Cuban government, and then it sailed to the United States, where it was also denied entry. An effort was then made to receive permission to sail to Halifax, Nova Scotia, but Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King refused to provide sanctuary to the passengers, many of whom ultimately were killed when the St. Louis returned to Europe. Prime Minister Trudeau issued a statement saying that “the [Canadian] government chose to turn its back on these innocent victims of Hitler’s regime...We are sorry for the callousness of Canada’s response. And we are sorry for not apologizing sooner.”

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