Volodymyr Kish.
I had the pleasure this past weekend of attending the 25th triennial convention of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in Regina. Before continuing, I should let you know that I have been attending such conventions for some forty years now, and they have not always been a pleasure.
In decades past, the UCC was not always the relatively united and smoothly functioning, effective organization that it has become over the past decade. For a long time, it was plagued with political factionalism, ideological battles, a lack of pragmatism, and leaders that lacked professionalism and administrative as well as diplomatic acumen. UCC’s mission and range of activities was also much narrower, and its influence in Canada’s political corridors of power was much more limited than it is today.
The difference on this last point is particularly striking. The government of Ukraine sent no less than two Deputy Prime Ministers, a Deputy Foreign Minister, and its Ambassador to Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was slated to attend, but the sudden death of Israel’s former Prime minister, Simon Peres forced him to change his plans in order to attend the funeral with other world leaders. Nonetheless, four Canadian Cabinet Ministers did attend – Minister of Economic Development Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephane Dion, Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale, and Minister of Labour MaryAnn Mihychuk. Also in attendance were numerous MP’s, MPP’s, MLA’s, and Senators. It was obvious testimony to the fact that the UCC has some very real political clout.
What was also obvious is that the makeup of the UCC’s leadership ranks is quite different from what it was several decades ago when it was composed mostly of an older generation of immigrant men whose primary qualification was nationalist political activism. Today’s UCC leaders are much younger on the average and primarily Canadian born. They are also much more likely to be highly educated professionals, entrepreneurs, corporate executives and experienced community organizers. They are adept at using the latest media channels and technology, and are politically well connected with all the levels of government in Canada.
All of this resulted in a well organized convention that ran smoothly and with virtually none of the controversies and heated debates that were common in conventions past. Of particular value was the large number of panels, seminars and workshops that dealt with contemporary issues and challenges, and which provided participants with a practical and valuable learning experience.
Much of the credit for this must go to Paul Grod who has in his last two terms as President, managed to assemble a talented and effective executive team, as well as putting the organization on a firm and dependable financial footing. It was little surprise then that he was unanimously acclaimed to a third term as President.
Because of the dire situation in Ukraine, most of UCC’s efforts over the past several years have focused on providing aid and support to the homeland, and this was also reflected in much of the discussions that went on at the convention. The high level delegation from Ukraine did a pretty thorough job of explaining the challenges they face in trying to push through necessary reforms, eliminate the deeply rooted scourge of corruption, all the while fighting the hybrid war with the Russians in the Donbas. Our Canadian politicians were also quite forceful in confirming Canada’s strong and continuing support for Ukraine. Even Foreign Minister Stephane Dione was quite clear that, though he believes dialogue with the Russians is necessary, Canada will always “stand shoulder to shoulder” with Ukraine, and will not compromise its commitments to Ukraine nor use it as a bargaining chip in its dealings with Russia. In his address to the convention, Dion announced a further $8.1 million dollar in funding to help train Ukraine’s new police force.
On a more personal note, the part of the convention that I appreciated the most was the excellent series of practical workshops and panels that were held to help delegates deal with some of the contemporary issues that they have to deal with on a day to day basis. One good example of this was a session that provided an overview of the most effective strategies on how to exploit digital media such as Facebook, Twitter and the Internet in general in furthering the aims of the organization.
The other highlight of the convention was the gala concert celebrating the 125th anniversary of Ukrainian immigration to Canada. Held at Regina’s impressive Conexus Arts Centre, it featured an unparalleled array of talent from across Canada that is testimony to the richness and vibrancy of Ukrainian art and culture in this country. In particular, I will never forget the number that featured Ron Cahute, Vasyl Popadiuk and John Stetch performing together and demonstrating their collective genius as musicians extraordinaire.
The UCC has much to be proud of.
Share on Social Media
