UCC Meets Citizenship and Immigration Minister
TORONTO–On June 6 representatives of the
Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) met in
The delegation consisted
of Irene (Orysia) Sushko, National UCC President; John Pidkowich, UCC Ontario
Provincial Council President; and Jurij Klufas, a Toronto Ukrainian community
activist and broadcaster.
At the onset of the
discussion, President Sushko applauded Solberg’s recent announcement of new
measures to assist victims of human trafficking who are often sexually
exploited and the targets of organized crime.
Sushko also indicated
that the community welcomed Prime Minister Harper’s recent announcement
regarding cutting the Right of Permanent Residence Fee in half, the earmarking
of funds in the recent federal budget for a centre to assess foreign
professional accreditations as well as increased funding for the settlement and
integration of immigrants.
Other items covered in
the presentation made to Mi-nister Solberg at the meeting included the UCC’s
position on: the current Canada War Crimes Program; the need for a new
Citizenship Act; problems with issuing visas and processing immigration
applications at the Kyiv Embassy; family reunification; the need for a live-in Care-Giver Program for
Ukrainian Canadian families; the need for support for community-based
settlement and integration agencies; accreditation of foreign professional
credentials; and human trafficking.
According to the UCC,
Solberg indicated that many of the issues that were brought up at the meeting
are currently undergoing review, and he agreed to meet with the UCC to follow
up by the end of the summer.