Churches mark slave trade anniversary.

ENI--Christians in Toronto commemorated the 200th anniversary of the law abolishing the slave trade in the then-British Empire, at a service in a church founded as the city's first black congregation in 1826.

"This is an opportunity for people of faith to reflect on the ghastly past," Jean Augustine told an overflow crowd of white and black Christians. In 1993, Augustine became the first black woman to be elected to Parliament. "We must acknowledge the past in order to move towards tomorrow."

The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act was passed on March 25, 1807 by the British parliament.

"We must recognize that Canadian society was built on the backs of slaves and of aboriginal people, "said Nora McMurtry, co-chair of the Canadian Ecumenical AntiRacism Network of the Canadian Council of Churches, which sponsored the event. "Church leaders even owned slaves."

In a statement, the government said that while the territory had not been directly involved in the transatlantic slave trade, slavery is reported to have existed in Canada from 1628, although the earliest historical records suggest it was first established by Louis XIV in 1689 in New France.