UCC Montreal
Holds AGM
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) Montreal Branch held its
Annual General Meeting on June 5 at the Ukrainian Youth Centre with 26 delegates
representing various Montreal organizations.
Outgoing Branch President Marika Putko in her
report presented an overview of the important work and achievements of UCC
Montreal within the general Quebec community.
The highlight of the year’s work was the recent
adoption of Bill 390 by the Quebec National Assembly on June 2,
recognizing the 1932-33 Famine as Genocide. The passing of this Bill was made
possible through the close work with Louse Beaudoin, MNA for Rosemont
representing the riding where the majority of Ukrainians in Montreal reside and where the UCC
office is located. At UCC’s Annual Independence Banquet last August, Ms.
Beaudoin announced that she will commit herself to the passing of a Bill on the
Holodomor in Quebec, as was done in other
parts of Canada. A committee was struck
with the president, Prof. Roman Serbyn, Roman Karpishka and Zorianna
Hrycenko-Luhova. When the Bill was first
introduced in November 2009 and then on June 2 when it passed unanimously, the
UCC organized a bus to Quebec City for representatives of
the Montreal Ukrainian community to demonstrate their support. Ukraine’s Ambassador Ihor Ostash
was also present for the historic occasion.
UCC Montreal met with the Hon. Jason Kenney, Canada’s Minister of
Multiculturalism, Citizenship and Immigration outlining the concerns and needs
of Quebec’s Ukrainian community. UCC also participated in meetings with other
cultural community groups in Montreal.
The president’s report also emphasized the need
to continue support for the Ukrainian community in Northern Quebec, lead by James
Slobodian. A major undertaking is the opening of an interpretive educational
museum regarding the internment of Ukrainians at Spirit Lake, Quebec’s largest internment site, ensuring this
historical memory is passed on to future generations.
A new executive and board for 2009-10 was
acclaimed: President, Zorianna Hrycenko-Luhova; Past President, Marika Putko;
Vice Presidents Pavlo Showhaniuk, Bohdanna Hawryliuk, Zenon Bryniawsky, Prof.
Roman Serbyn; Treasurers Yourko Koulecky and Andrij Dragan; Secretary Olena
Kulishov; and other board members.
Newly elected President Zorianna Hrycenko-Luhova
encouraged member organizations to send delegates to the Triennial UCC National
Congress to be held in Edmonton in November. Other plans include organizing the UCC
archives and monitor the same in other Montreal organizations, as this
is a lasting record of the community’s contribution to Quebec and Canadian society;
and encourage enrollment in the two Saturday Ukrainian schools, the foundation
for the next generation of informed Ukrainian Canadians.
Finally, both outgoing and new Presidents
stressed the need to continue to monitor and react to the unsettling
developments in Ukraine under President Viktor
Yanukovych and current government, the rapid undoing of major reforms and
achievements after the fall of the Soviet Union and Ukraine’s renewed independence.
The UCC Montreal AGM, chaired by Evhen Czolij, a
former UCC Montreal President, concluded
with a reception and further discussion.
PHOTO
UCC Montreal Executive. Front row L. to R.: Zenon
Bryniawsky, Vice President; Marika Putko, Past President; Bohdana Hawryliuk,
VP; Oksana Shtyk. 2nd row L. to R.: Pavlo Showhaniuk, VP; Olena
Kulishov, Secretary; Andrij Dragan, Treasurer; Zorianna Hrycenko-Luhova,
President; Lesia Prystupa-Shwec, Ukr. School Board Head, Marika Farmus