The View From Here

A Moving Experience

By Walter Kish

Last week, the staff and operations of this paper moved from their temporary quarters above the Ukrainian Credit Union offices on Toronto’sCollege Street to a new, hopefully more permanent space in the new UNF hall on Evans Ave.

The moving experience is not new to our 73 year old paper.It first saw light in October of 1930 in Edmonton.Financial difficulties in 1933 forced it to move to Saskatoon.In 1941 it moved again to Winnipeg.In 1950, when it was probably at its peak in terms of circulation and financial strength, it bought a large five story building inWinnipeg where it carried on operations for the next 24 years.In 1974, as a reflection of the growing shift of Ukrainian organizational activity and power to eastern Canada, the paper was relocated once again, this time to Toronto, where it found a home in the large building on College Street that housed the Toronto Branch of the UNF.The UNF sold the building over a year ago, and since then, the paper and its small staff have been lodged in temporary quarters on the third floor of the Ukrainian Credit Union building next door while awaiting the completion of renovations to the new UNF hall at the Evans Ave. site.

All these changes in location were necessitated by changes of circumstance and environment.Over the years, the paper has had to change many other things besides its physical premises.Editors, writers, administrators have come and gone.The paper’s appearance, masthead and font style have evolved over the decades.The technology has changed significantly since those days in Winnipeg when big, clankylino-typesetters and offset presses made the paper’s offices a noisy place to be.Now the flicker of computer screens and gentle hum of hard disk drives permeate the paper’s smaller but more efficient space.

The biggest changes however, have had less to do with the physical aspects of the paper’s operation as with the human element.For most of its existence, the paper was run by and reflected the thinking and priorities of an older generation of Ukrainians immigrants, primarily the waves that came in the wake of the two world wars that dominated the historical events of the twentieth century.

Over the past decade or so, editorial and management control of the paper has shifted to a younger generation composed mostly of Canadian-born Ukrainians, but also encompassing the energy and talent of the latest wave of Ukrainians coming to Canada in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet empire.This shift has resulted in dramatic changes in the paper’s appearance and content, changes that has stimulated no shortage of debate and controversy.Foremost of these have been the introduction of a significant amount of content in the English language, as well as a broadening of the paper’s political perspective beyond its original “OUN-M” nationalist ideological focus.

These changes have not been the arbitrary moves of a particular political interest group, but as a response to the reality of the Ukrainian community in Canada today.The future of that community now rests with the vast mass of second and third generation of Canadian-born Ukrainians, as well as with the small but dynamic group of well-educated new Ukrainian immigrants that have come to Canada over the past decade.Correspondingly, the future of this paper rests with its ability to remain relevant to this target readership.

In my view, a paper has two essential purposes – to inform and to lead.A good newspaper must cover the events, issues and interests of the community it purports to serve.Secondly, it must provide leadership through giving its readers access to the best ideas, opinions and analysis available.It must also do this in a manner and form that is interesting and engaging.It is our strong belief that the changes that have occurred to this paper over the past few years are consistent with these principles.

This most recent change of the paper’s address heralds yet another new phase in our existence.Though change may be difficult and disconcerting at times, it is a necessary aspect of our existence.The fact that we are not only capable of change but actively embrace it, reflects our continuing commitment to adapt in the face of a challenging and rapidly changing world.