There is little doubt that the whole purpose of bill S-219 and Journey to Freedom day is to change the history of the Vietnamese in Canada. The Saigon regime is recognized as a legitimate nation and the original boat people have been erased from history and replaced with the former Saigon ruling elite, i.e., the military.

The certificates are additional insurance to make sure that the message of bill S-219 was understood by all (who read or understands parliamentary bills?). The wording on the plaques and certificates varies slightly, but it is always obvious about the intent to change Canadian history.

"This certificate is presented to [an ARVN representative] in recognition of its dedication to mark the 40th anniversary of the boat people resettlement in Canada. Your efforts to honour the history of Vietnamese Canadians are commendable" (signed by Stephen Harper, dated 2015).

"[From] the Vietnamese Canadian refugees and boat people. Given in honour of the commemoration anniversary of the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 to ... In recognition for its ... commitment to resettling thousands of refugees to Canada in the aftermath of the Vietnam War."

"Every year on April 30 we commemorate the exodus of Vietnamese refugees, the largest ever migration of people in the twentieth century, and their acceptance in Canada after the fall of Saigon in 1975"(2019 certificate, which goes on at some length to characterize Canada's response to the migration as a political act in response to the war).

We have evidence of about 40 of these certificates or plaques being handed over at various times. There were probably a lot more. Most of our 40 were signed by Stephen Harper and handed to various ARVN representatives. A few went in the other direction, from the ARVN to the government, and a few went to authoritative figures other than government.

Today, the presentation of a certificate is a standard feature of the annual Journey to Freedom Day events.

The objective appears to be for everyone to have an authoritative plaque hanging on their wall declaring that the boat people crisis happened in 1975 in response to the fall of Saigon. That would imply that Canada's aim was partisan: to rescue ruling Saigon elite from the aftermath of their defeat.

No representative boat people are involved -- it's a message to them that they are marginalized because they do not identify as nationals of the Saigon regime.

It's about as in-your-face as you can get if you aim is to marginalize the real boat people.

The whole process is a dog whistle telling the real boat people that they must identify as ARVN supporters or disappear from public view. The desired change to history cannot be accomplished unless the Canadian Vietnamese community appears to conform to it.