Location: What's New
What's New

Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson Speech on the Occasion of the Presentation of a Governor General’s Certificate of Commendation to the Ukrainian Canadian Congress

(August 31, 2005) Parliamentarians, Chief Justice, Mr. Mayor, Ms. Sushko and members of the Ukrainian Canadian Community, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dobri den. I am thrilled to be back here at City Hall where, nearly six years ago, I made my first civic visit as Governor General. That day, I helped to honour Caring Canadians from Alberta and presented long-service medals to police officers and fire fighters.

Ce fut là mon baptême, pour ainsi dire, mon initiation aux visites et aux échanges et à l’amitié que j’ai connus depuis 1999. À l’occasion de cette visite, ma dernière présence officielle à Edmonton -- je vais quand même revenir, à titre privé, en hiver, sous les scintillements du soleil sur la neige! -- je suis heureuse de rendre hommage à la communauté ukrainienne dans un domaine qui me tient fort à coeur.

That was my baptism, my introduction to the visits and exchanges and friendship that I have known now since 1999. On this, my last official visit to Edmonton -- I’ll be back, particularly in winter when the sun is sparkling on the snow! -- I am pleased to pay tribute to the Ukrainian community in a matter which has great meaning for me.

The Governor General’s Certificate of Commendation is given very rarely; this is only the second non-military commendation during my mandate. It reflects an intense personal as well as national gratitude for what Ukrainian Canadians have done for freedom in their country of origin, and the example they helped to set for the world.

At the end of January, I stood on a platform close to President Yushchenko as he made his inaugural speech in the Maidan. A million people were there to cheer and listen to the man at the centre of the Orange Revolution. In the House of Parliament, I sat beside his wife, Kateryna. She shone with pride as he spoke positively and convincingly about his role as the leader of Ukraine. I was seated at the Yushchenkos’ table at lunch, and I knew that this honour was due to the hard work of Canadians, especially Ukrainian-Canadians. My hosts knew what their Canadian sisters and brothers had given, and how vital this contribution had been to their democratic quest. President Yuschenko is aware of this Commendation of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. It expresses Canada’s – and my – admiration and respect for this community’s international response last year, and for its strong tradition of civic responsibility within our country.

Ukraine’s national poet, Taras Shevchenko, wrote 150 years ago of a time when “in your own house you will see / True justice, strength and liberty!” Even then, with untold suffering still to come, he lamented the number of Ukrainian émigrés. He could not have foreseen the future services of Ukrainians in a far-off wilderness that was not yet even a nation, and yet he did write this in 1845: “…you throng to foreign lands / To seek the Highest Good that stands – / True Liberty, that sacred Good / In fair fraternal Brotherhood / And you have found it as you roam! / From foreign fields you bring it home…”

While the Orange Revolution was going on, we hoped desperately that it would not end in a bloody civil war. We wondered at the resolve of a population that peacefully insisted on electoral justice. We applauded their courage in standing for freedom. But for more than a million Canadians of Ukrainian heritage, it was not only about free elections and the advance of democratic principles. It was also a global family drama, and their response to it was characteristically strong.

Ever since Ukrainians arrived in Canada in the late 19th century, it was evident that this was a proud community. About four years ago, we were able to purchase samples of this cultural pride, a priest’s sleeping bench and a hutch. Made for a Ukrainian church, these beautiful pieces are covered lovingly in green and red paint, and now sit in a prominent place at Rideau Hall. They will remain there to remind Canadians, in their national home, of the role that Ukrainian immigrants have played in our history. They maintained their faith, their culture, and their sense of beauty even as they were struggling to survive. As they built community in a new land, they never lost sight of their ancestral home. We still see the marks of their success: the families, the farms, the businesses, the civic institutions.

Today, I am glad to see that we can now openly recognize and redress the wrongs that were done to Ukrainians who, like new arrivals from other backgrounds, endured the suspicions and slights of their fellow citizens, including unjust internments of thousands of people. Such hardship, though, did not stop Ukrainians from immigrating and from making themselves into an indispensable part of our country, especially here in the West.

When Albertans, in the first half of the 20th century, elected Michael Luchkovich and later Anthony Hlynka to Canada’s Parliament, they may have been the only democratically elected Ukrainians anywhere in the world. By the end of World War II, your community was strong, and its role in opening our West and building Canada was firmly established. But the Ukrainian Canadian Congress was looking beyond our borders to the huge numbers of people displaced by the war, including approximately 200,000 Ukrainians. The Congress was a strong advocate for the loosening of Canada’s restrictive immigration policies, which did much to lead the way towards the welcoming society that we are today.

This is only one of countless ways in which Ukrainians have helped to make Canada what it is. In Alberta, where one in ten people has Ukrainian roots, this may be old news to you, but how many Canadians in 1945 would have foreseen that two of my predecessors as Canadian Governors General would be named Schreyer or Hnatyshyn? Or that we would have national icons named Bondar or Gretzky? Today, we have a dazzling diversity, and we notice less and less how people’s names are spelled. We’re getting better at pronouncing them, too.

All of that was brought home to me that day in the Maidan. The cooperation of the Congress with several levels of Canadian government was exemplary. The people of Ukraine understand the debts that they owe to you, and are deeply moved by your hard work over the weeks it took to ensure a peaceful transition. It is my honour now to call upon Irene Sushko, President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, to formally receive the Governor General’s Commendation.

It reads:

“In deep appreciation of the role played by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in organizing a 500-person election observation mission to monitor the re-run of the second round of voting in the Ukrainian Presidential election on 26 December, 2004.

“The effort undertaken by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress to raise funds, recruit observers, and mobilize and train the participants was unprecedented and is a testament to the energy, dedication, and ideals of all those who took part in the mission. The sacrifices made, particularly during the holiday period, demonstrated the great importance that you, and indeed all Canadians, place in ensuring that the vote would be carried out in a free, fair and peaceful manner. Your elections observers contributed to the international effort to ensure a neutral and non-partisan environment in order to give Ukrainian voters the comfort and security they needed to vote freely and openly.

“The dedication, hard work and sacrifice demonstrated by all those who participated in the mission will serve as an inspiration to those who are struggling to achieve their democratic right to free and fair elections.”

Dyakuyu. Merci. Thank you.