Ottawa, March 5-8, 2012
An international conference, “Ukraine At the Crossroads,” will take place in Ottawa at the Chateau Laurier Hotel, March 7-8, 2012, and Parliamentary Hearings on Ukraine at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development will be held in the House of Commons, March 5 and 7, 2012.
The conference will bring together experts of the highest order to discuss the complex paradigm of consolidating the independence of Ukraine and its integration into Euro-Atlantic structures, while, simultaneously, supporting fundamental change in Ukrainian government policy toward one that respects democratic governance, rule of law, and human rights. Presentations will be made by internationally eminent experts on the policies of the Ukrainian government, and the roles of the EU, US, Canada, Poland and Russia in supporting or undermining these ends.
The distinguished speakers at the conference represent a who’s who of experts on Ukraine including from Kyiv, EU, Washington, D.C., London, Warsaw, Moscow.
The stature of the internationally distinguished speakers at the conference is of such eminence that the parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development of the House of Commons of Canada has agreed to hold hearings on Ukraine on March 5 and 7, 2012, in order to take testimony from many of the conference speakers.
Both the conference program and the hearings at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs have been developed specifically to address the most pressing issues confronting Ukraine’s quest for mature nation-statehood: international support for Euro-Atlantic integration and for a civil society, including free and fair parliamentary elections in Ukraine later this year.
The “Ukraine at the Crossroads” conference is being convened under the auspices of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC). It is co-organized by the Canada Ukraine Foundation, University of Ottawa and the Center for US-Ukrainian Relations. The work of the Conference Steering Committee is coordinated by the Canada Ukraine Committee of the UCC.
The League of Ukrainian Canadians (LUC) initiated and successfully pursued the convening of parliamentary hearings on Ukraine. It also is a member of the Conference Steering Committee. As such, the LUC is the interlocutor with the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on behalf of the “Ukraine at the Crossroads” conference.
The “Ukraine at the Crossroads” conference, taken together with the parliamentary hearings at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, will constitute a historic, precedent-setting sequence of events at a critical time for Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Canadian community as a whole, as represented by the UCC, can collectively take pride in that the cumulative impact of these interrelated and internationally significant proceedings will further affirm Canada’s leadership in supporting Ukraine.
To attend the “Ukraine at the Crossroads” conference, please visit the UCC website at: www.ucc.ca.
The parliamentary hearings on Ukraine at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development in the House of Commons, March 5 and 7, 2012, are open to the public. For more information, please contact the LUC National Executive at: luc@lucorg.com
