I have visited the Ontario Provincial Parliament many times over the past decades in my capacity as an officer of the League of Ukrainian Canadians. On one such recent occasion, I had the honour of being invited to meet privately with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Hon. Dave Levac, who has been a strong supporter of the Ukrainian community.
However, it was an event involving the former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, that proved to be a rare and special occasion. For on June 5, 2012 the official portrait of the Hon. Steve Peters was unveiled in the Main Hall of Parliament. It was special because in 2008 and 2009, I had the privilege of consulting with Speaker Peters and his staff to move forward the recognition by the Ontario Parliament of the Holodomor of 1932-33 in Ukraine as an act of genocide. That undertaking was truly a unique accomplishment, where all parties represented in Parliament, and under the leadership of MPP Dave Levac, co-sponsored and unanimously adopted Bill 147 “An Act to Proclaim Holodomor Memorial Day.” Steve Peters, especially in his capacity as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, was among the leaders who brought about the unity and unanimity of all of the MPPs in the Legislative Assembly on this critically important issue to Ukrainian Ontarians. The occasion also was special and truly memorable because Steve Peters is a proud Ukrainian Canadian, who distinguished himself and brought honour to his Ukrainian heritage and community by his many years of selfless public service and commitment to his electorate in his riding of Elgin-Middlesex-London, and indeed to all Ontarians.
In honouring Speaker Peters, the Premier of Ontario, Hon. Dalton McGuinty; leader of the Ontario NDP, MPP Andrea Horwath; the Official Opposition’s representative, MPP John Yakabuski; Hon. Dave Levac, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario; and Deb Deller, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario thanked Speaker Peters for his dedicated public service. He was remembered as a fair and just Speaker of the Legislature and an accomplished Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and, subsequently, Minister of Labour. He began his public service first as Councillor and then Mayor of St. Thomas in 1988.
In his remarks, Mr. Peters referred to his Ukrainian heritage on several occasions, noting that his great-grandfather arrived in Canada and settled in Saskatchewan. He also recalled that his father was compelled to change the family name to Peters to protect his family from the discrimination present during those times. His family hails from the province of Ivano-Frankivsk in Ukraine. He looks forward to visiting his numerous relatives in Ukraine, now that he has retired from his career in public service.
The Honourable Steve Peters is the first Ukrainian Canadian to ever hold the position of Speaker of the Ontario Legislative Assembly.
