ETOBICOKE/MISSISSAGUA/TORONTO CHAPTERS OF THE CANADIAN CONFERENCE IN SUPPORT OF UKRAINE (CCSU) HOST MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
Local Ukrainian Canadians came together at the Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian Community Center in Etobicoke, Ontario on Sunday, February 5, 2012 to thank three Members of Parliament from ridings of Etobicoke/ Mississauga for their support of Ukraine and to raise funds for a memorial in Ottawa to victims Communism.
MPs Bob Dechert (Mississauga Erindale), Ted Opitz (Etobicoke-Centre), and Bernard Trottier (Etobicoke Lakeshore) were honoured guests and featured speakers at a benefit luncheon organized by Etobicoke/Mississauga and Toronto Chapters of the CCSU: League of Ukrainian Canadians (LUC), League of Ukrainian Canadian Women (LUCW), Ukrainian Youth Association of Canada (CYM), and the Society of Veterans of UPA.
The official program began with over 200 guests standing silently as the prelude to the documentary film “The Soviet Story” was played. Simultaniously, 22 members of CYM, holding lit candles, made their way through the beautifully decorated banquet hall to light a center-piece remembrance candle on each table, which was encased in barbed-wire, symbolizing the hope for freedom in the face of oppression.
Baturyn Concert Marching Band (CYM), Petrusia Chornopyski conductor, superbly performed the mournful prayer, Holy Father (Sviatyj Bozhe), before a hushed hall during the remembrance candle lighting ceremony.
Opening prayers were offered in the Ukrainian language by Rev. Father Ihor Panchyshyn from the Ukrainian Catholic Church and in the English language by Rev. Father Volodymyr Makarenko from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Following the Canadian and Ukrainian National Anthems performed by Baturyn, Mr. Peter Kardasz, President of LUC Etobicoke/Mississauga Chapter and Chair of the Luncheon/Benefit Steering Committee, extended his greetings to the community, Members of Parliament, and Mrs. Alide Forstmanis, Chair of Tribute to Liberty (TTL). In his capacity also as a member of the TTL Board, Mr. Kardasz introduced Mrs. Forstmanis to the community and invited her to speak.
Mrs. Forstmanis thanked Mr. Kardasz and the members of the Steering Committee for hosting the benefit. She spoke about the genesis of TTL and the work accomplished to date, as well as the daunting tasks that still need to be completed before a dignified monument will be standing in a fitting location in Canada’s National Capital Region. Mrs. Forstmanis concluded by sharing her vision of TTL, where all communities in Canada that trace their ancestral heritage to nations that suffered communist totalitarian brutality will have a monument in the nation’s capital to honour the memory and sacrifice of their brethren.
Following lunch, Mr. Orest Steciw, National President of LUC, thanked the Masters of Ceremony, Natalie Kardasz and Zenon Ciz of CYM and LUC as well as the young CYM members for skillfully guiding the opening ceremonies by saying: “the opening ceremony including the lighting of memorial candles by CYM members and the performance of ‘Holy Father’ and National Anthems by CYM’s Baturny was truly moving and a fitting tribute to why we are all here today: to honour our ancestral nation’s suffering and sacrifice in the struggle to defeat totalitarian communism.” He expressed confidence in the future of CCSU organizations “as young people such as our MCs and CYM performers are now coming to the fore and taking on leadership responsibilities in our organizations.” Mr. Steciw also expressed high regard for the chairpersons, board members and rank and file of the LUC, LUCW, CYM and UPA chapters that organized the event as well as the President of the Ukrainian Community Centre, Peter Cyhynka. “The National Executive is pleased to have had the opportunity to facilitate various aspects of the program of today’s benefit luncheon and to work with such dedicated volunteers. Our CCSU Chapters in Etobicoke/Mississagua and Toronto are exemplary in every way and we are very proud of them,” he said.
Turning to the guests of honour, Orest Steciw underscored: “I can say with certainty that our organizations here in Etobicoke, Mississagua, Toronto, and throughout the GTA can take pride that our MPs from Mississauga-Erindale, Etobicoke Centre, and Etobicoke Lakeshore are among the most supportive of our Ukrainian Canadian community. Bob Dechert, Ted Opitz and Bernard Trottier have not only responded positively to our requests for support but also have encouraged their colleagues to support our national programs and projects.
Introducing Bob Dechert, Orest Steciw recounted that Mr. Dechert is Member of Parliament for Mississauga-Erindale; Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs; Member, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development; Member, Canada Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group. Mr. Steciw noted that “Bob Dechert is, at this very time, performing a great service to our Ukrainian Canadian community in our nation’s capital. A month to the day from now, on March 5 and 7, 2012, the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development will begin hearings on Ukraine. Bob Dechert deserves our deep appreciation for this accomplishment.”
Bob Dechert’s, eloquent and emotional, remarks, recalled the suffering of the Ukrainian nation during the Holodomor and how fitting the memorial to the victims of totalitarian communism would be in this regard. He also noted the on-going concerns of the Ukrainian Canadian community over developments in Ukraine and recounted the steps taken by the Canadian government to address the situation including: Prime Minister Harper’s trip to Ukraine and letter to President Yanukovych that included Canada’s concerns about the treatment of Yulia Tymoshenko, followed by the emergency debate in the House of Commons on the trial of Yulia Tymoshenko and the current political situation in Ukraine.
Bod Dechert noted “Following a meeting that I had recently with Orest Steciw, Borys Potapenko and other members of the League of Ukrainian Canadians, we have arranged for the Standing Committee of Foreign Affairs of the House of Commons to study the current state of democracy in Ukraine. I believe that by holding these hearings on Parliament hill, we will show the Ukrainian Government that Canada is taking notice and that we will hold them accountable for their actions.” In closing, Bob Dechert spoke about the up-coming elections to the Ukrainian parliament “I can assure you that we will be looking at the most effective way of helping ensure that the core principles of fairness are upheld” (during the elections). He concluded his well received remarks with the assurance that “As Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, I will continue to raise your issues and I will work to ensure that the realities in Ukraine are reflected in Canada’s foreign policy.”
Introducing Ted Opitz Natalie Kardasz noted that he is a Member of Parliament for Etobicoke Centre; Member, Canada Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group; former Senior Regional Advisor to the Hon. Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism; Lieutenant-Colonel, Canadian Army Reserves. She recalled Ted Opitz’s efforts on behalf of the Ukrainian community including that he successfully carried the community’s message to the Prime Minister’s Office requesting the Prime Minister to make his dramatic and very important visits to the Lonsky Prison Museum and the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv during his historic trip to Ukraine; his defence of Roman Krutsyk of the Kyiv Memorial Society, standing up for Yulia Tymoshenko, and speaking out on the situation in Ukraine. Ms. Kardasz also noted Ted Opitz’s strong support for the upcoming hearings on Ukraine in the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
In his remarks, Ted Opitz said he was proud that Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird had taken swift action to issue an official statement expressing Canada’s serious concern over the politically-motivated arrest of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Ted Opitz underscored Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s clear stance on the question of democracy and human rights in Ukraine. “The Prime Minister set the tone for Canada- Ukraine relations in his historic speech in Lviv, when he stated that “the cornerstone of Canada’s foreign policy is the promotion of such values: freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and all the institutions that come with them: property rights, an impartial judiciary, and above all, freedom of expression and a free press.” Opitz said. Ted Opitz mentioned that whatever assistance he was able to render in organizing Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s historic trip to Ukraine, was his duty to perform. Mr. Opitz vowed to continuously monitor the situation in Ukraine and to consult regularly with Canadian Ukrainian organizations and other NGO’s who are engaged in promoting human rights and democracy in Ukraine.
Zenon Ciz introduced Bernard Trottier as a Member of Parliament for Etobicoke Lakeshore since 2011; Member, Government Operations and Estimates Committee; Member, Canada Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group; former Senior Consulting Manager, IBM Global Business Services). Zenon Ciz spoke about how he and his friends in LUC were “among the volunteers that worked on Bernard Trottier’s election campaign. In working the phone bank or ringing door bells, we worked hard with the Trottier Team and were rewarded with a great victory in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. As a Member of Parliament, Mr. Trottier has been a strong advocate on behalf of Ukraine, he has spoken out in Parliament, he has participated in our community’s vigils for Yulia Tymoshenko, and he has supported Prime Minister Harper’s strong position on human and national rights for Ukraine, Ciz concluded.
In his remarks Bernard Trottier expressed agreement with what his colleagues had noted before him in their remarks including support for free and fair elections to the Ukrainian parliament later this year, the release of Yulia Tymoshenko from prison, support for rule of law, civil society, democracy and human rights. He then directed his attention to the memorial to victims of totalitarian communism by saying, “Behind the Iron Curtain, these basic ideas (democracy and human rights) did not prevail. Human rights were not respected. People were not allowed to think and say what they wanted. Censorship and propaganda were the rule. Basic truths were withheld. Millions of people were banished to forced labour camps. Many millions more died in forced starvation or by outright execution. Many of you here today are descendants of people who suffered this cruel fate.” Bernard Trottier concluded by affirming “We must remind people that Communism, conceived in the 19th century, implemented to great human suffering in the 20th century, will not be allowed to destroy lives in the 21st century and beyond.“
During the cultural program, sisters Ivanka and Solomiya Salo sang a beautiful duet about Ukraine.
The Baturyn Concert Marching Band, Petrusia Chornopyski, conductor, performed “Volunteers are Marching“, and “Chervona Ruta” composed by a famous Ukrainian dissident from the 1960s, Volodymyr Iwasiuk, who was killed by the communist regime in Ukraine.
The program concluded with remarks of appreciation in the Ukrainian language by Maria Kret, President of the LUCW Etobicoke Chapter, and in the English language by Peter Kardasz, who said: “We truly are grateful to Bob Dechert, Ted Opitz and Bernard Trottier for their taking the time to share this Sunday afternoon with us for a noble cause. We also are grateful to them for their continued support of our community especially, during the recent visit to Canada of Roman Krutsyk, for the release from prison of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and for free and fair elections in Ukraine this fall. All of these critical issues will be covered during the hearings on Ukraine at the Foreign Affairs Committee next month on March 5 and 7, 2012. We are proud that these hearings are being coordinated through our League of Canadian Ukrainians, National Executive.”
