YVAN BAKER, M.P. ELECTED CHAIR OF CANADA-UKRAINE PARLIAMENTARY FRIENDSHIP GROUP
On March 9, 2020 on Parliament Hill, Etobicoke Centre Member of Parliament Yvan Baker was elected Chair of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group (CUPFG) during the annual general meeting. CUPFG is one of Canada’s largest and most active parliamentary friendship groups with over 100 members representing all political parties.
The purpose of the CUPFG is to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas between Canadian Parliamentarians and their counterparts in Ukraine and to promote and enhance the political, economic and cultural relations between Canada and Ukraine. The CUPFG has hosted bilateral meetings and roundtables with Ukrainian political leaders such as President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, and Speaker Andriy Parubiy, as well as human rights activists such as Crimean Leader Mustafa Dzemilev, Hennadiy Afanasyev, and most recently Oleg Sentsov. Annually, the CUPFG co-hosts, with the Ukrainian Embassy and Ukrainian Canadian Congress, the annual Holodomor Commemoration, Vyshyvanka Day and Ukrainian Day on Parliament Hill.
“Canada and Ukraine have a special and strategic bilateral relationship. This is based on the ties built between the 1.4 million Ukrainian Canadians and their ancestral homeland, and Ukraine’s position as the bulwark against Russian aggression and challenge to liberal democracies. I am deeply honoured to having been elected and entrusted to fulfill the role as Chair of this association at this crucial time. Canada has stood at the forefront of international support for Ukraine’s democratic, economic and defence reforms, as well as its sovereignty and territorial integrity. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the CUPFG from all parties, in both the House and the Senate, to continue to support Ukraine’s prosperity, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said Baker.
The Executive Officers and Directors of the CUPFG elected on March 9, 2020 are as follows:
Chair: Yvan Baker, M.P. for Etobicoke Centre (Liberal)
Vice Chairs: James Maloney, M.P. for Etobicoke–Lakeshore (Liberal)
James Bezan, M.P. for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman (Conservative)
Stéphane Bergeron, M.P. for Montarville (Bloc Québécois)
Heather McPherson, M.P. for Edmonton Strathcona (NDP)
Secretary: Julie Dzerowicz, M.P. for Davenport (Liberal)
Treasurer: Cathay Wagantall, M.P. for Yorkton—Melville (Conservative)
Directors:
Han Dong, M.P. for Don Valley North (Liberal)
Terry Duguid, M.P. for Winnipeg South (Liberal)
Rosemarie Falk, M.P. for Battlefords—Lloydminster (Conservative)
Peter Fonseca, M.P. for Mississauga East—Cooksville (Liberal)
Irek Kusmierczyk, M.P. for Windsor—Tecumseh (Liberal)
Kevin Lamoureux, M.P. for Winnipeg North (Liberal)
Raj Saini, M.P. for Kitchener Centre (Liberal)
Gerald Soroka, M.P. for Yellowhead (Conservative)
Arif Virani, M.P. for Parkdale—High Park (Liberal)
David Yurdiga, M.P. for Fort McMurray—Cold Lake (Conservative)
For further information: Yvan Baker, M.P. (613) 947-5000
