As a diplomat hoping to strengthen ties between Ukraine and Ukrainian communities in Canada, it makes a lot of sense that Andriy Shevchenko would wind up in Yorkton at some point.
That point was last Thursday evening for the new Ukrainian ambassador to Canada. Following a visit to Regina during which Shevchenko toured the Legislature, the ambassador traveled to Yorkton for a banquet at which he was the keynote speaker.
“We have such wonderful emotional warmth between Canada and Ukraine through the Ukrainian-Canadian community,” Shevchenko said. “My mission and my challenge is to make sure we can supplement that with very pragmatic reasons to be good partners. That’s why we’re exploring new opportunities in terms of trade, in terms of investments, and in terms of security cooperation. I’m really looking forward to that.”
The ambassador’s message for local residents of Ukrainian heritage was three-fold.
“Message number one, on behalf of Ukraine, I can say that we are very thankful for what the Ukrainian-Canadian community has been doing, what a wonderful example they have set, for their support to Ukraine,” he told Yorkton This Week. “Through charity, they help us to make our army stronger, to help us deal with the internal displaced persons, we have 1.6 million IDPs in Ukraine because of the war.
“My message two would be to spread the good word about Ukraine. We enjoy a lot of moral solidarity, but we also would like people in Canada to know more about our success stories. I think we have some major successes in modernizing the country and we hope to see more.”
He shared one such success, which Canada had a major role in.
“Canada is helping us to launch the new Ukrainian National Police and law enforcement is very crucial to this new country which we are building,” he explained. “Two years ago during the revolution, when I saw a policeman in front of me, I knew he is a danger to me, he is a danger to all the people behind me and if someone from the protestors was in the hands of police he would be beaten up, tortured or maybe even murdered. Now we have this new national police that enjoys about 80 per cent of public support and trust. A lot of that comes with the Canadian contribution.”
The third part of his message was one of solidarity.
“I would encourage the Ukrainian-Canadian community to stay together, to stay united,” he said. “They have been wonderful examples, role models, as community leaders, as community activists around country and specifically here in the Yorkton area and I would really encourage them to stay together, that helps them to have a strong voice, a strong say.”
Shevchenko also dropped three announcements during a VIP meet-and-greet prior to the banquet at which he recognized Yorkton-Melville MP Cathay Wagantall for being the first Parliamentarian to welcome him to Canada and for organizing his visit to Yorkton.
First was an invitation to the Canada-Ukraine Business Forum scheduled for June 20 and 21 in Toronto. Tickets are still available for $100-$200 and participants will have access to Ukrainian business people and government officials, he explained.
He also said Ukraine is very much looking forward to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit in early July when, he said, he expects the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement will be signed.
Finally, he plugged the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress (UCC) 75th Anniversary celebrations set to take place September 29 to October 2 saying he will attend and bring officials from Kiyiv to mark 25 years of Ukrainian independence, 75 years of the UCC and 125 years of the first Ukrainian settlers to Canada.
Olya Grod, UCC interim executive director, said Shevchenko’s desire to get out and meet people at the local level is huge for the Ukrainian community and also presented a wonderful opportunity for her organization.
“There was really no way we were going to come to Saskatchewan and not come to Yorkton,” she said. “It’s really the heart of Ukrainian Town, so to speak, here in the west.”
From Yorkton, Shevchenko traveled to Saskatoon Friday where children at Bishop Filevich Ukrainian Bilingual School threw a surprise 40th birthday party for him.
During his visit, the ambassador also took some time to talk to Yorkton This Week about his involvement in the upheaval in Ukraine since independence in 1991. At that time, Shevchenko was a correspondent for The Ukrainian News, an Edmonton-based publication. During his career he has been a major activist for free speech and a free press. After the Orange Revolution in 2004, he was elected three times to the Ukrainian Parliament and was an active participant in the 2013-14 EuroMaidan protests.
He spoke candidly about the gravity of that situation.
“Our EuroMaidan Revolution really gave a feeling to each of us who was in Maidan, that we were making history for our country, for our kids, for our grandkids and for generations to come,” he explained. “I think what was amazing was the courage and the sacrifice of millions of ordinary people because people come to the streets not when they have nothing to lose, but when they have something stolen away from them. Those people had a lot of things to lose. They knew they were risking their jobs, their prosperity, their health, their lives and it was absolutely extraordinary to see that kind or courage around me.”
While Shevchenko cites progress, he also has serious concerns about the future and the lack of awareness of the situation in Ukraine outside the country.
“First of all, I think the country is still going through very dramatic events with the war with Russian occupation,” he said. “It’s an existential threat to the country and I think people do realize that what they do really matters.
“When I arrived to Canada as Ukrainian ambassador six months ago, I was surprised to hear from many of my new Canadian friends, who thought that the war in Ukraine was over. Well, it’s not. Every night when you turn on the news you hear about more and more casualties among the military. We know Putin is not going to stop where he is right now. We know that he cannot accept the very idea of Ukraine independence. And we know that Putin and his team, they are preparing Russia for a major war against the free world, against the west. Ukraine is just going to be one of the theatres so we know that we stand not just for ourselves, but for the whole free world as of the moment.”
As a former journalist and activist, who has seen the dark heart of oppression, he believes Canadians should feel very lucky.
“I think not all the Canadians actually realize what a wonderful society you have built, with so much respect to individuals, with so much respect to different nations and to minorities and I am very proud that the Ukrainian-Canadians have made a major contribution into this wonderful, extraordinary society which you can enjoy,” he said.
“I think it’s something which is not to be taken for granted. Actually a majority of the people around the world, they don’t have that granted, free speech, right to free trial, right to be defended by police. Many of those are not granted for most of the people around the world, but also I think Canada’s example should be very encouraging how to build the appropriate society.”
