“A Man For All Canadians”

By Walter Kish

On Friday, (May 18), I had the pleasure of attending a preview showing of an interesting new documentary film called “A Man For All Canadians”.  This hour long production by Rogers OMNI Television, recounts the life of Canada’s first Ukrainian Governor General - Ray Hnatyshyn.  The film will premiere on OMNI I TV on Sunday, May 27 at 9 p.m., with a repeat performance on Saturday, June 2 at 9 p.m.

Ray Hnatyshyn was undoubtedly the most successful Ukrainian to grace the Canadian political scene since our sheepskin clad ancestors first started arriving on Canada’s shores in the 1890’s.  His father John Hnatyshyn came to Canada as an infant in 1907 and took advantage of the boundless opportunity this country offered to all immigrants to build a new life.  He finished law school at the University of Saskatchewan and became a successful lawyer, a path that his son Ramon, better known as Ray, would also follow.  John Hnatyshyn had a deep interest in politics and was a good friend and colleague of John Diefenbaker.  Although his attempts at elected office were not successful, his service to the Conservative Party was rewarded when John Diefenbaker appointed John Hnatyshyn to the Senate of Canada in 1959, the first Ukrainian ever appointed to such a position.

Ray’s own electoral attempts proved to be more successful than his father’s.  In 1974, he was elected to Parliament for the first time where he served as a member of the opposition Conservatives during one of Trudeau’s turns as PM. When the Conservatives came to power in the succeeding election, Prime Minister Joe Clark, appointed him the Minister of Energy.  Later in the 1980’s, under Brian Mulroney, he became Government House Leader and Minister of Justice.  In the 1988 Federal Election Ray lost his seat in Parliament in a surprising upset, but in recognition of his dedicated service, Mulroney appointed him to serve as Governor General of Canada, a post he held from 1990 to 1995.

It was during his term as Governor General, in 1992, that Ray Hnatyshyn made his memorable visit to a newly independent Ukraine, the first by a Western leader.  As well as numerous political and state functions, Ray made it a point to visit the little village in Bukovyna where his father had been born.  There, thousands of local villagers greeted him as the “King” from America.

Upon completion of his term as Governor General, Hnatyshyn returned to practice law as well as numerous charitable pursuits.  He died in 2002 of pancreatitis and was given a state funeral.  The eulogy was given by his old time friend Peter Mansbridge, News Anchor and Chief Correspondent for the CBC.

Although one cannot say that Hnatyshyn was an active member of the Ukrainian Canadian community, focusing most of his time, energy and dedication to public service, he nonetheless made a point of emphasizing the value he placed on his Ukrainian background.  He was always first and foremost a Canadian, but a Canadian who recognized the importance of one’s roots and heritage.  In that sense, he was an ideal symbol for the prototypical and ideal multicultural Canadian – the descendant of immigrants who did well; one who became a staunch Canadian, but who still retained both an interest and respect for his cultural and ethnic heritage.  In that sense, the title of the documentary, “A Man For All Canadians” is rather appropriate.

The documentary was produced for OMNI television by Iryna Korpan, a well known Ukrainian Toronto radio and television host.  One of the writers, Paul Terefenko, should be familiar to readers as a former writer for this paper.  The film includes extensive commentary by many of Hnatyshyn’s friends and colleagues, including his wife Gerda, Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney, Michael Wilson, Peter Mansbridge, Roy Romanow and John Nunziata. Commendably, the film was produced in both Ukrainian and English versions, and is well worth watching.