John Yaremko Sponsors Hrushevsky Volume

In the spring of this year, representatives of CIUS attended a meeting of the Order of St. Andrew at St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Toronto to thank John Yaremko for sponsoring the publication of Volume 10 of Mykhailo Hrushevsky’s History of Ukraine-Rus. The event was chaired by William Sametz, head of the local chapter, and blessed by His Eminence Archbishop Yurij of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. Nadia Jacyk, president of the Petro Jacyk Educational Foundation, and Olga Kuplowska, president of the Canadian Foundation of Ukrainian Studies, joined in paying tribute to our distinguished Ukrainian Canadian.

Born in 1918 in Welland County, Ontario, John Yaremko, a son of Ukrainian immigrants, graduated from the  University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall Law School. Called to the Bar in 1944, he was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1953. He decided to devote his career to public service. Elected as the first Ukrainian Canadian in the Ontario provincial legislature in 1951, he was a member of the Government of Ontario from 1958 to 1974, serving at various times as Provincial Secretary and Minister of Citizenship, Minister of Public Welfare, Solicitor General, and Registrar. Having had to put himself through school, John Yaremko was deeply committed to the concept that all talented young Canadians should have access to higher education. Mindful of his roots, he also believed in a multicultural Canada free of racism and discrimination. He was instrumental in having heritage languages taught in Ontario schools.

John Yaremko and his late wife, Myroslava, were active members of the Ukrainian community and generous donors to many general Canadian and Ukrainian Canadian causes. Among the educational institutions that have benefited from their generosity are the Ukrainian studies program at York University, Osgoode Hall Law School, and the Petro Jacyk Central and East European Research Centre at the University of Toronto Library. At the April 5 gathering, CIUS director Dr. Zenon Kohut thanked John Yaremko for becoming a patron of the Institute. Dr. Frank Sysyn, director of the Peter Jacyk Centre for Ukrainian Historical Research at CIUS, recounted his frequent discussions with John Yaremko about the project, during which Mr. Yaremko stressed how greatly he had been influenced by reading Hrushevsky’s works and declared how important it was to have the complete History of Ukraine-Rus published in English. By donating $25,000 and pledging that he or the John and Mary A. Yaremko Foundation will donate an additional $75,000 in the next three years, the Honourable John Yaremko has hastened the day that the entire History will be available in English.

Volume 10 deals with Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky’s rule and the Union of Hadiach (1658). Dr. Andrew Pernal, professor emeritus of Brandon University, serves as scholarly editor. The translator of the volume is Marta Olynyk of Montreal, who has also translated earlier volumes in the series, and the managing editor is Myroslav Yurkevich.

  Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press Release