UCC 24^th Triennial Congress

Volodymyr Kish

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) held its 24^th triennial congress this past weekend in Toronto and I can honestly say that it was a convention that I quite enjoyed. Usually such Ukrainian conventions or conferences are more a matter of duty and endurance than a source of pleasure.

I suppose it reflects the fact that the UCC and its constituent organizations have achieved a level of maturity where such national gatherings have truly become positive platforms for constructive exchanges of ideas and development of programs and common strategies, rather than forums for divisive political debates that they used to be at one time. Aside from the requisite administrative agenda and the election of a new President and other executive and board members, there was a wide variety of workshops and seminars on an interesting array of topics including, arts, culture, media, Ukrainian – Jewish relations, the Ukrainian language, the Holodomor, Canada – Ukraine relations, the Canadian Museum of Human Rights and many others.

The importance of the Congress was reflected in the impressive list of politicians and dignitaries that were in attendance for various events. Taking part were Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the leaders of both federal opposition parties – Tom Mulcair and Justin Trudeau, numerous cabinet members, MP’s, MPP’s, City Councilors and even Toronto’s embattled Mayor, Rob Ford.

There were also some half a dozen guests from Ukraine, the most prominent of them being Hanna Herman, Special Advisor and spokesperson for President Victor Yanukovich. She is well known as being the self-proclaimed “dissident” member of the Party of Regions from Western Ukraine. She was born, raised and educated in the Lviv heartland and likes to portray herself as a defender of Western Ukraine’s interests and causes within the Yanukovich regime. In the early years following Ukraine’s Independence, she became a well-known journalist and an active member of the progressive Ukrainian nationalist movement. She served for a time as Kyiv bureau chief for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. In 2004, then Premier Yanukovich appointed her as Press Secretary to the Cabinet of Ministers and since then she has inexplicably become a leading and influential member of the Party of Regions and a notorious apologist for the Yanukovich regime.

Ms. Herman participated in a panel discussion with a representative of the opposition Svoboda party from Ukraine (Andriy Mokhnyk) and a journalist from Ukrayinska Pravda (Serhiy Leshchenko) on developments in Ukraine since the last parliamentary elections. To be honest, she was the most impressive of the lot. There is no doubt that she is a smooth and polished spin master, and though cast into a proverbial lion’s den, she easily outclassed her panel opponents in terms of professionalism and PR ability. It is a real shame that she has put her talents and abilities into use for what I like to call the “dark side”. The opposition in Ukraine could certainly use someone of her abilities. One may find it hard to believe what she is saying, but she sure knows how to say it well. I should note that though there was some minor heckling, the vast majority of the audience treated her with civilized dignity and respect. This too is reflective of the official policy of both the UCC and the World Congress of Ukrainians, namely that we may disagree strongly with what the government of Ukraine is doing, but we should nonetheless continue to strive to have constructive dialog and engagement with the official authorities of Ukraine.

The other issue of note that generated considerable discussion, was the continuing struggle to have the Canadian Museum of Human Rights that is being built in Winnipeg reflect in a balanced and effective manner the three main historical causes that are fundamental to the Ukrainian Canadian community. These are Canada’s World War I Internment operations, the Holodomor genocide, and the proper recognition of the victims and the destruction caused by Communist regimes over the past century. The UCC has been trying hard to push this agenda with the Museum’s board and management for some ten years now and have reached an impasse. There is a great deal of frustration within the UCC executive over the museum’s unwillingness to accommodate the UCC’s proposals, which has led to an apparent breakdown in communications between the UCC and the Museum.

Although the UCC executive is taking a hard line on what would be acceptable to the Ukrainian community in terms of the museum’s content, many of the delegates from Manitoba urged that the UCC moderate its stance as they are beginning to feel a public backlash against the Ukrainian community in Winnipeg who are being increasingly characterized as being obstructionist and even anti-Semitic. They suggested that the UCC make better use of prominent members of the Manitoba Ukrainian community who have built up good relations with the Museum board as well as local political structures. UCC President Paul Grod indicated that he is open to the suggestion and reiterated the UCC’s commitment towards seeing the Museum’s succeed. There is now less than a year left until the museum’s opening, so time is running short, and it will be interesting to see how this issue gets resolved.

All in all, the Congress can be deemed to have been a great success and was certainly interesting and fun.