Two
Decades of Friendship
Remarks
by the Hon. David Kilgour,
Secretary
of State (Asia-Pacific) and Member
of Parliament for Edmonton Southeast
to
the Ukrainian Canadian Congress
- Alberta Provincial Council
Hetman
Awards Banquet
Ukrainian
Youth Unity Complex
November
21, 2002
Edmonton,
Alberta
Thank you, dear Catherine. Dear friends, including Premier,
Chancellor, Doctor Peter Lougheed.
Dorohi pani i
panovy. Dobrij vechir! Duzhe pryjemno buty
s’ohodni z vamy.
Honoured guests, good evening. It is a pleasure to be with
you today.
Receiving this award tonight is an extraordinary
honour.
I’ve received various awards
over the years, but this one
is particularly special. It
comes from Alberta - the best
province in the country! It
comes from Edmonton, part of
which I am
honoured to represent.
And it comes from you - the
Ukrainian-Canadian community,
which has stood by me for over
twenty years.
The award tells me I’ve been doing my job, but it’s more
than that. It stands for teamwork
and friendship. Being with you
tonight, and over the years,
has made me feel like you’ve
accepted me as one of your own.
But you are also a crucial part
of my community - one
I can truly count on, for which
I humbly thank you. And you
are a community that, from the
1890s, has helped build this
city, province, and country
into what we are today.
My three visits to Ukraine in the late 1980s and
1990s were particularly
special. I saw firsthand what
brings and keeps you together
-
your shared passion,
your history,
your belief in your culture,
your faith. Mykhailo Hrushevsky
captured this history in his
extraordinary “History of Ukraine-Rus.”
These volumes, eloquently translated
into English, act as a window
into the soul of your nation
- your “narod.” You have persevered
through centuries of foreign
occupation and oppression. The
great poet, Taras Shevchenko,
called Ukraine “this land of
ours that is not ours.” If Hrushevsky
and Shevchenko were alive today,
they would be two of millions
of Ukrainians whose dreams for
independence have come
true.
The road since independence has not been easy. Your sisters and brothers continue to face
hardships, as do many countries
around the globe - the challenges
of governance, for example ...
natural disasters, especially
floods ... humanitarian concerns,
such as the plight of orphans
... environmental and occupational
hazzards ... It is heartening
to know though that there are
people like you, the late Dave Sereda, Peter and Olya Savaryn
and Bill and Ollie Diachuk,
who remain ready to help this
incredible country face whatever
obstacles may lie ahead.
And there are signs of progress. Only today, I learned
from a grain broker that Ukraine
will export about 17 million tonnes
of wheat this year, including
350,000 tonnes to Canada, of all
places.
The path to democracy is always a struggle; for many of
you, it is the realization of
a lifelong dream. That dream extends
to your Ukrainian identify, whether
you live in Edmonton, Kharkiv,
Toronto or Lviv. Unfortunately,
the
injustices and conflicts
of the past continue to haunt
your community, even here.
There’s internment, for example. Isn’t it about time
that we acknowledge what happened
and work at setting things right?
Just yesterday, in the House
of Commons, I spoke with my colleague,
Inky Mark, who has reintroduced
a Private Member’s Bill that would
have the government acknowledge
what happened and make reparation.
I understand the bill has widespread
support among the UCCLA, UCC-APC,
and many of you. I applaud your
initiative. We need to acknowledge
these wrongs. It is part
of our history; we need to make
sure it never happens again.
There is no time to get into the so-called “D & D”
process, which has caused such
grief, but I want you to know
that I remain committed to you.
Your community leaders have met
with me over the years, most recently
over your concerns regarding D&D.
I’ve raised these with my colleagues
and will continue to do so, whether
in Cabinet or in the House.
Please know that you not
only have me as your M.P.; you
also have me as a lifetime friend.
On that note, thank you again for
this very special award and for
your hard work and support over
the years. Pryjmit’, vid sertsia,
moju schyru podiaku. I wouldn’t
be here if it weren’t for you.
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