Ukrainians in Canada

Russian military aggression is not leaving any component of the environment unscathed – air, water, soil, flora, fauna, as well as auxiliary infrastructure facilities, Ruslan Hrechanyk, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources told the Khmarochos. “One trillion hryvnias is needed to restore the environment. But every day the number of losses increases,” said Hrechanyk on Oct. 25. Two weeks later, the Chamber of Accounts named an even higher figure for the estimate of the damage to the Ukrainian environment – UAH 1.35 trillion. According to the Operational Headquarters for Fixing Ecocrimes of Russia, since the beginning of the war, emissions of hazardous substances into the air due to forest fires, oil products’ and industrial facilities’ burning have exceeded 67 million tons (for comparison, in 2021 and 2020, emissions were ...

The $10,000 BCU Foundation “Canada 150 Fund” Graduate Scholarship will be shared by two young scholars in its inaugural year. Olha Hnatyshyn, of Verdun, QC, and Olena Skalianska, of Toronto, ON, will each receive $5,000 towards their academic studies. BCU Foundation established the scholarship as part of its ongoing commitment to foster the development of future generations of scholars and young professionals. Olha Hnatyshyn has earned BA and MSc degrees and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Environmental Economics at Concordia University. Her research focuses on climate change, multiple international environmental agreements, and endogenous coalition formation. She has received numerous prizes, scholarships, and certificates of accomplishment, and she has published and presented her work in various venues. She is also the initiator and co-organizer of the...

Over 200 guests gathered at the Art. Gallery of Ontario on May 12 for the 2022 Tryzub Awards Gala to honour (Ret.) Lt.-Gen. Paul Wynnyk and Dr. Timothy Snyder for their contribution to strengthening the Ukrainian brand. This year’s recipients of the Tryzub Award are two stellar representatives of the immeasurable support being afforded the Ukrainian nation at all levels of society, across different fields and professions. Retired Lieutenant-General Paul Wynnyk’s life’s work is rooted in the military, having held many leadership roles during his distinguished career. The significance of his contribution as Commander of the Canadian Army to developing Canada’s mission in Ukraine known as Operation Unifier is now fully understood in the framework of today’s global fight for democratic principles and values. In his remarks Lt.-Gen. Wynnyk highlighted the...

Today, Yvan Baker, the Member of Parliament for Etobicoke Centre, received unanimous consent of the House of Commons for his motion seeking to recognize Stalin’s 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars as genocide and to establish May 18th of each year in Canada as Crimean Tatar Deportation (“Sürgünlik”) Memorial Day. “My sincere gratitude to MPs of all parties in the House of Commons for their unanimous support of my motion. The passage of this motion is an important step in honouring the victims of the Sürgünlik, but it is also important in raising awareness that the genocide that Russia is perpetrating in Ukraine today and that the persecution of Crimean Tatars that is happening as we speak, has happened in Ukraine before during both the Sürgünlik and the Holodomor." MP Baker said. “This underlines how important it is that the world take the steps necessary to ensure that Ukraine wins this war with Russia and that all occupied territories including Crimea are once again part of the...

The Ukrainian Youth Association (UYA) held the second, in-person part of its triennial Canadian National Conference in Calgary on May 13-15, 2022. A virtual component took place earlier on March 26 March. Delegates and guests represented branches in Winnipeg, Hamilton, Edmonton, Etobicoke, Calgary, Mississauga, Montreal, St. Catharines and Toronto. Breakout sessions at the Conference focused on three main subjects: educational challenges with a focus on how best to help integrate Ukrainian families and children fleeing the war in Ukraine; organizational issues, especially how to retain and engage the membership and integrate newcomers to Canada, the key challenge being to engage youth with developmentally-oriented programming, and find ways to bridge the gap between Canada and Ukraine; CYM Canada’s 75th jubilee celebrations in 2023 with a focus on the future of the organization “where we would like to see the...

Canadian writer Maria Reva is the winner of the 2022 KOBZARTM Book Award for her book Good Citizens Need Not Fear published by Knopf Canada. The announcement was made during a virtual ceremony on April 28, 2022, presented by award sponsor Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko (Shevchenko Foundation). Good Citizens Need Not Fear is a clever and heartfelt work of fiction that weaves stories from the chaotic years leading up to and immediately following the fall of the Soviet Union. Inspired by her own family’s experiences, Maria explores the real-life circumstances that influenced the character, determination, and perseverance of so many Ukrainians living in Canada today. A writer of fiction and opera libretti, Maria’s writing has appeared in The Atlantic, McSweeney’s, The Wall Street Journal, Granta, and The Best American Short Stories. She won a National Magazine Award in 2019 and was a finalist for the Writers’ Trust of Canada 2020 Fiction Prize. The ceremony, hosted by Emmy award-winning journalist Terry MacLeod from...

The war in Ukraine is certainly on everyone’s mind as we watch coverage of the daily horrors taking place on the streets in real time. While we’re all disturbed watching these atrocities, those with Ukrainian roots are especially affected, and many grassroots fundraising efforts have begun by those in the Ukrainian-Canadian community. Richard Halenda of Halenda’s Meats has been particularly motivated to find ways to help the war effort. “My wife’s family and my father were from Ukraine. Many of our staff here at Halenda’s have Ukrainian heritage. And we serve thousands of Ukrainian families because of the ethnic roots of what we make,” Halenda explains. When the fighting started, Halenda and his team felt strongly compelled to help...

The Toronto Star published an op-ed by UCC National President Alexandra Chyczij I am the child of Ukrainian refugees who came to Canada after the Second World War. For the past five weeks, the vivid and horrific imagery of the brutal and criminal Russian attack on Ukraine plays out on our television screens, every hour of every day. For the Ukrainian people it is a nightmare from which they cannot wake. For me, it is déjà vu. My parents and grandparents escaped the Nazi German and Soviet occupations of Ukraine. They fled west to Austria, where as a forced labourer my 14-year-old mother worked in a German munitions factory. She buried her 3-year-old brother and her beloved grandfather in Austrian soil. My family was fortunate to be sponsored to come to Canada and were grateful Canadians for the rest of their lives...

People, mainly women and children, make their way through Medyka border crossing after journeying from war-torn Ukraine on Wednesday in Medyka, Poland. The Polish government has said it may spend 24 billion Euros this year hosting refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine, and is seeking more support from the European Union. With more than 4 million Ukrainian refugees, Poland is now the country...

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan stated: “A genocide begins with the killing of one man--not for what he has done, but because of who he is”. This concept reflects the tragic truth of all genocides and the Holodomor is no exception. The Edmonton branch of the League of Ukrainian Canadian Women (LUCW) established a Holodomor Essay contest in 2020 to help young adults develop a deeper understanding of the HOLODOMOR. The contest encourages junior and senior high school students in the Ukrainian-English Bilingual Programs in the Edmonton area and the Ivan Franko School of Ukrainian Studies to learn more about the HOLODOMOR and why it is important to remember the HOLODOMOR in 2020 and to honour the victims. The Edmonton Branch of the LUCW is pleased to announce the winners of the 2020 Holodomor Essay Contest. Students earning a first place were awarded $250.00. Second place was awarded $200, third place was awarded $150.00 and fourth place received $100.00 In the junior high school category, all the...