New Pathway.
Part 1: Nadia Jacyk Contemplates on History and Future of Petro Jacyk Education Foundation
Petro (Peter) Jacyk (1921-2001) is remembered as a prominent philanthropist and leading Ukrainian Canadian businessman. The Prombank Group of Companies, which Mr. Jacyk founded over 50 years ago, initially was focussed on building of fine homes. Today, Prombank develops different kinds of real estate on major arterial routes and interchanges with short commutes to or from Toronto. Prombank’s projects include industrial, commercial and residential properties in Woodbridge, Etobicoke, Brampton, Mississauga, Toronto, Richmond Hill, Whitby, Oakville and Milton. The New Pathway spoke with Petro Jacyk's daughter and Prombank Group's President and CEO, Nadia Jacyk, about her father, the nature of business and the Ukrainian Canadian community.
New Pathway: At the beginning of our interview you said that Ukrainians in Canada for some reason prefer working as employees to starting businesses. It still seems to be the case now as it was the case 40 years ago. Why are Ukrainian Canadians less entrepreneurial than many other ethnic groups like Poles, Italians, etc.?
Nadia Jacyk: When explaining this, we often hear the justification that Ukraine has always been under domination and that intelligentsia and business people have always been discriminated against in bad and lethal ways, so what was left and safe was a focus on the arts. For decades, Ukrainians in Ukraine would seek to be in journalism and literature, and we have a tremendous amount of books and talented people in the arts. Many people are in sports, music, dancing, and so on. And one can say, “They are just a product of their environment.” While this is absolutely true, I don’t know if one should rely on that explanation entirely. It’s like blaming your parents for your poor upbringing. Well, from age 20 until 80, it’s up to you to make it. Ukrainians can’t just say “It will take centuries for us to develop a more capitalistic and more ambitious mindset”. I think one has to say, “That was then, this is now, what can I do?” Of course, I am talking about Ukrainians living in a democratic society. Living in a society with a kleptocratic government is a different and complex matter.
I don’t know what it is about the upbringing of the Ukrainian youth in the West – some work hard and some don’t. Because let’s face it – to start a business there’s risk and a lot of sweat equity that has to be put in. That means 12 – 14 hour days, day in and day out. I don’t know why the Polish can do that. Having said that, there are some Ukrainian entrepreneurs here in Canada. I walked down the street a few weeks ago and saw a truck, with a Ukrainian flag on it, parked outside a luxury custom home being built. They were bricklayers. I was pleased to find out that there is another Ukrainian stone masonry company and there are a few already. People in the trades need to aspire to rise above being just labourers. There is a demand for good. Say, if you make really good Ukrainian food, you will have a business. In the Distillery District, there’s a Mexican place that is always busy. There are Mexican restaurants all over, why is this one so popular? Perhaps it’s because their food and service is good. Location is very important as well.
New Pathway: Do you think that Ukrainian cuisine can match a Mexican one?
Nadia Jacyk: Yes. People’s appetites are often looking for something different or new. Yesterday night I had pulled pork perogies at an English restaurant. They were quite good. Today establishments put all kinds of ingredients in pyrohy. Why are they able to come up with the idea and we can’t? Beets and cauliflower are so popular right now. Old is new again….with a little spin. You need a creative mind to capitalize on trends. It’s the same thing, but repackaged.
New Pathway: Is it more difficult or easier to start a business and earn a market share in Canada now than in your father’s time?
Nadia Jacyk: If you’re starting a business and you want to make a good living for yourself and your family, I think you can achieve that. To grow a medium sized company to large size is much more difficult now than it was 30-40 years ago. After the Second World War, Canada was in a growth cycle. As we all know, competition is good to a point, but if you have too many competitors in addition to too many international competitors in your country, it becomes more and more difficult. I can only talk about the real estate industry as an example but I think that start-up companies, trades, contractors, suppliers, etc., can make a nice living. However, it is very hard and it takes a long time – years – to build larger businesses because of competition. Because of unprecedented low interest rates, real estate is the new gold and there’s a “gold rush” on right now. Everybody is searching and going into it. The big get bigger. So how can we compete with very wealthy people from unstable jurisdictions bringing money here and just parking it? They don’t care whether they get as little as a 2% return. Pension funds, who are exempt from paying taxes, are another major source of competition. They have increased their investments in real estate from 5% to over 25% in less than a decade. If they make money for their shareholders – great. If they don’t, also fine. They get more funds each year. What may happen though is that when things normalize, when the gold rush has decreased a little, it may become easier again to advance a little further. In the meantime, one must understand what is happening in their field, look to do things better and be nimble. Change can also hold opportunity.
New Pathway: Do you think this situation is preventing many Ukrainian Canadians from starting businesses?
Nadia Jacyk: But isn’t that a failure mentality? Fear of failure will paralyze you. “Nothing ventured – nothing gained”, and back to my father’s saying, “The sin is in not doing.” It’s a mindset that you have to be willing to act on. There is a saying I like which is, “One succeeds in direct proportion to the number of times one has failed ….and tried again.” But chances are if you really give it a concentrated effort based on realistic, practical goals, and not on dreamer expectations, chances are you will slowly gain. Many people want to get rich quick and it doesn’t happen that way. A few are lucky, but there is another saying – “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” And I do believe in that.
New Pathway: Have you ever been told that Peter Jacyk looked very similar to the singer Dmytro Hnatiuk? (note to the readers: see photos below)
Nadia Jacyk: Yes. He was one of my father’s favourite singers and when he was in Canada, my father met with him a few times. I’m sure they laughed and discussed their similarities – Petro Jacyk had a great sense of humour.
Peter Jacyk Dmytro Hnatiuk
New Pathway: Do you remember any trademark jokes by Petro Jacyk?
Nadia Jacyk: Petro had a good memory, was well read and he used to love приповідки or proverbs. Many times, people have said to me, “You should write them down.” I regret very much that I did not write them down during the time when I was with him. Once when pani Kopatch in Ukrainoznavstvo school gave us an assignment where we had to come up with 100 приповідки, I was only able to come up with 5. On the Friday night before the Saturday morning the assignment was due, I sat down with my father and he came up with the other 95 in just two hours. In the boardroom, when in long negotiations, Petro Jacyk would often catch everyone off guard by cracking a joke. It was a good way of easing tension.
To conclude, I think my father’s generation are all fascinating, each in their own way. Their strength, their integrity, their wisdom, their seriousness, their industriousness, is extraordinary. When I think of what that generation went through, how they went through it and how successful they were, I am constantly left in awe. Maybe there’s truth to what my father would sometimes say, – “Adversity breeds strength.” What worries me is that there is a new generation that may never recapture those strong and admirable character traits, but there is always hope.
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