Wrzesnewskyj and Goodale Meet Press on Redress

By John Pidkowich

At a press conference called on March 13, 2007 in Toronto, Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj (Etobicoke Centre) and the Hon. Ralph Goodale, former Minister of Finance, confirm that $12.5 million in funding was put in place for settlement redress with the Ukrainian Canadian community. Goodale explained in an overview, that Prime Minister Paul Martin assigned files to the Hon. Raymond Chan, then newly appointed Secretary of State for Multiculturalism, with respect to ethno-cultural community issues and claims. Goodale elaborated that in his fiscal plan for 2005 as Minister of Finance and within the fiscal framework of Canada’s Finance Department, funds had been budgeted to address the Internment of Ukrainian Canadians as well as funds for outstanding issues claimed by other ethno-cultural communities. Goodale asserts that upon his last review of the government’s revenue and expenses on November 24, 2005, there was an explicit line item for all outstanding ethno-cultural issues and claims to fully cover a total of $55 million.

The Ukrainian Canadian community seeks the restitution of the 2007 contemporary value of that portion of the internees’ confiscated wealth that was not returned, and of the value of the internees’ forced labour – in total, about $45 million. In the form of an endowment, in symbolic redress, a $12.5 million fund is to be set up within the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko.

On August 24, 2005, the Ukrainian Canadian community, in good faith, signed an Agreement in Principle (AIP), in Regina, with the Government of Canada for an initial settlement amount of $2.5 million and additional funding specifying that it would be used for commemorative, educational, research and cultural initiatives, determined by our community. Although an Acknowledgement, Commemoration and Educational Fund (ACE) of $25 million was included in the Liberal government’s Federal Budget in Spring 2005, with an additional $30 million budgeted for the Fall 2005 Economic and Fiscal Update, no amount of any promised funding was ever delivered to the Ukrainian Canadian community.

Wrzesnewskyj recalled that he had been involved in the parliamentary process for internment settlement redress, from November 2004 to November 25, 2005 with the House of Commons unanimously passing Inky Mark’s Private Member’s Bill C-331 Internment of Persons of Ukrainian Origin Recognition Act. Days later, the Liberal government fell in a vote of non-confidence on November 29, 2005.

Earlier this month in the House of Commons, the Hon. Jason Kenney, Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity agreed to retract his “non-parliamentary language” in the House, after accusing Etobicoke Centre MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj of a “deliberate falsehood”. The interesting debate to ensue is the argument as to the facts of the case to redress the WWI Internment of Ukrainian Canadians. The final agreement and settlement is between the Government of Canada and the Ukrainian Canadian community and should be delivered by the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko.

Notwithstanding the “gaffufle” and adverse exchange over the last several days between Wrzesniewskyj and Kenney, Borys Wrzesnewskyj stands firm requesting the inclusion of the Ukrainian Canadian internment settlement as a line item in the upcoming Federal Budget, being put forth by the Conservative government on Monday, March 19, 2007. Through the freedom of access to information, Wrzesnewskyj has requested specific documents stating proof of the $12.5 million figure to the community and to be dispensed by the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko. He calls upon the government to uphold an agreement that has already been reached and that the last known surviving internee, Mary Manko who is 98, rest assured, will know that settlement has reached closure whereby the internment is fully acknowledged and educational - cultural programs along with research - commemorative projects may begin.

At the close of the press briefing and question period, a request was made for individual members of the Ukrainian Canadian community to appeal to the Conservative Government of Canada to honour the Ukrainian Canadian internment agreement previously signed with the Ukrainian Canadian community by writing their local MP in the House of Commons, the Hon. Jason Kenney, Secretary of State for Multiculturalism, the Hon. Bev Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage and to the Prime Minister of Canada, the Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper.