Ukrainians in Canada

А Gala Concert organized by the UCC-MPC to honour Taras Shevchenko was held in the Jubilee Auditorium this past Sunday, March 8, 2015 to officially end the 200th Commemoration Year. A commemorative booklet was also produced for this event. Cultural groups that performed at the Concert included: O. Koshetz Choir, Hoosli Male Chorus, Immaculate Heart of Mary School Children’s Choir, Verba Dance Ensemble, Prof. Myroslav Shkandrij, Simeon Rusnak, Ukrainian Bilingual Schools and both Winnipeg Ukrainian Language Schools. UCC-MPC would like to thank all the participants and the sponsors of the event. A full list of sponsors will be published shortly. An oil painting by local...

Mr. Ihor Kozak was awarded a Canadian flag by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in recognition of his significant contributions to Canada and the well-being of its citizens. This award comes in light of our flag's 50th anniversary and Mr. Kozak is one of 50 individuals and organizations that have significantly contributed to Canada. Mr. Kozak was nominated by three MP's, Minister Erin O'Toole, Mr. James Bezan and Mr. Ted Opitz, all three of whom have worked with Mr. Kozak in the military or through community work. Mr. Kozak served our country as a decorated officer in the Canadian Forces, at home and abroad, and...

An event held on 4 February at Winnipeg’s Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR), drew some five hundred people interested in learning more about the devastating famine created by Bolshevik leaders intent on breaking Ukrainian resistance to the Kremlin’s forced collectivization drive and preventing the real or imagined threat of Ukraine ever separating from the Soviet Union. Organized by the CMHR and the Holodomor Awareness and Education Committee of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), Manitoba Council, “Covering or Uncovering the Truth: Media Reporting on the Holodomor,” examined how a free press could...

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2015 Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism. The Award recognizes outstanding contributions to multiculturalism and the integration of newcomers. NEW IN 2015! The Paul Yuzyk Award will now recognize recipients in three categories each year: • Youth (aged 15-24) • Organization • Outstanding Achievement or Lifetime Achievement (aged 25+) Do you know a person or group who...

“I was there when [Nadiya] Savchenko was kidnapped…it was all planned, there were no journalists there at all.” These were the words of volunteer soldier Nazar Volynets, one of the featured speakers in last weekend’s informational fundraiser event, War in Ukraine, organized by Armiya SOS. Volynets has spent the last eight months fighting Russian-backed separatists and regular forces in eastern Ukraine. During the earlier press conference and throughout his keynote address to the audience, Volynets repeatedly attested to fact that Russian media outlets have been lying en masse about what is actually happening on the frontlines in Ukraine. “I was there, I [saw] how they lie,” he said...

A workshop funded by the Killam Foundation at the University of Alberta was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba at St. Benedict’s Retreat and Conference Centre. The purpose of the workshop was to explore how members of the academy, specifically the faculty at the University of Alberta and Cape Breton University involved in the Sanctuary Project, might work with the Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox Churches of Canada to help them utilize academic research in Church decision-making. Present at the workshop were Natalie Kononenko, Marcia Ostashewski, and Frances Swyripa from the...

The League of Ukrainian Canadians yesterday awarded Senator Raynell Andreychuk with the Mikhnovsky Medal of Merit, for her contribution towards a universal recognition of the Ukrainian Holodomor of 1932-1933 as an act of genocide by famine. “I am humbled by this acknowledgement,” said Senator Andreychuk, who was also made an Honourary Member of the League of Ukrainian Canadians. “As we prepare to commemorate the 7th Holodomor Memorial Day this Saturday, I am proud that the Ukrainian Canadian community has helped raise awareness about the Holodomor amongst all Canadians.” The award was presented at a small...

A specialized team of Canadian health professionals returned home after completing a medical mission in Ukraine. The team worked alongside Ukrainian doctors and nurses in performing reconstructive complex surgical procedures on victims of the Euromaidan movement and Vladimir Putin’s invasion into Eastern Ukraine. The mission was organized by the Canada Ukraine Foundation and Operation Rainbow Canada, under the patronage of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. The medical team of 25 professionals was comprised entirely of volunteers and included surgeons, anesthetists, and nurses. The team was assembled from across Canada including Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto. Over 60 patients from across...

“They were continuously thanking me for all the supplies I was able to bring, the letters, t-shirts with their logo… But mostly they were just thankful that someone cares enough to come visit them from a country as far away as Canada – especially a girl!” Twelve GPS Garmin Navigators, two packages of various medical supplies from Health Partners International of Canada, hand warmers, Celox, and Halo Seals are amongst the many items Ukrainian Canadian Ania Jacyniak was able to personally deliver on a recent trip toUkraine. Although she has been a...

Nineteen-year-old Vasyl Pelysh, a volunteer with the Aidar battalion, knows what it is like to make unimaginable sacrifices in the name of freedom for one’s country. While being held captive by Russian forces he had his right arm cut off. His Russian captors had found the Ukrainian coat of arms, the trident, and the words “Slava Ukraini! (“Glory to Ukraine!”) tattooed onto his shoulder. They made sure he would pay dearly for his patriotism. It is young Ukrainian war amputees such as Pelysh that Gene Berzovski and John Broadhead have made it their mission to help. Berzovski is a native of Kyiv, having come to Canada ten years ago. He has been involved with local Ukrainian community events, but this past summer something triggered him to do more. “I saw [online] a double...