Ethnic Partner

Canada was the first Western country to recognize Ukraine’s independence. The relationship between Kyiv and Ottawa has always been special, not in the least owing to the fact that one million out of thirty million Canadians have Ukrainian roots. Ukrainians play a prominent role in Canada’s life, which has turned Ukraine into a household name. For example, in “Maple Leaf Country” there is hardly anyone who is not familiar with Ukraine and Ukrainians. The same cannot be said of most Europeans. Canada’s interest in Ukraine’s life has become particularly evident on the eve of the presidential elections. Canadian representatives have repeatedly called for a fair election campaign. Moreover, Canada is a key member of the G8 and NATO, and its position on certain key issues matters for Ukraine for several reasons. In the following interview Ukraine’s Ambassador to Canada Mykola MAIMESKUL discusses Ukrainians’ role in the political life of Canada, myths and realities of the two countries’ economic cooperation, and Ottawa’s keen interest in Ukraine on the eve of the presidential elections.

UKRAINIAN ACCENT

“One often hears about the influence that the Armenian or Jewish ethnic communities have on governmental policy aimed at developing relations with their ethnic homelands. How would you assess the efforts of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada within this context?”

“Of course, highly developed democratic societies, like Canada without a doubt, have many levers allowing ethnic communities to influence certain decisions that affect their historic homeland. In general, the influence of ethnic groups is determined by such factors as the position that their ethnic homeland occupies in the system of international economic and political relations, the electoral importance of this community for the ruling government, the presence of minority representatives in parliament and the powerful business lobby, or the number of top executive posts they occupy, as well as the government’s willingness to act on advice from ethnic organizations or community leaders.

“Unlike in the days of the celebrated Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, when Canada was addressing major international problems from the standpoint of an active citizen of the world and when its interests encompassed every corner of the globe, today Canada — and this is the personal view of someone who is only getting to know the Canadian reality — gives more weight to the continental approach. The strategic priority that Canada attaches to its relationship with the United States — technically its only neighbor (aside from the US, Canada shares a marine border with Russia via the North Pole; Greenland, which belongs to Denmark; and Saint- Pierre and Miquelon, islands that belong to France) — is governed by the economic and political weight of this world superpower. One might say that Canada wants to remain within the bounds of a comfortable field of a common civilization, language, law, economy, religion, and culture with the US. In these conditions it is understandable that the concentration of political and economic resources in this direction somewhat limits room for maneuvering in other spheres.

“As for the relationship between Ukraine and Canada, its nature and substance have been determined by the 1994 Joint Declaration on the Special Partnership between Canada and Ukraine and the 2001 Joint Declaration on Continuing Development of the Special Partnership between Canada and Ukraine. Without a doubt, the presence of a large ethnic Ukrainian community — according to the 2001 census, 1,079,000 citizens acknowledge their mixed Ukrainian roots — has promoted the creation of such a relationship and guaranteed its development.

“Canadian Ukrainians are currently undergoing a complex and, unfortunately, painful process of a change of generations. Whereas the ‘parents’ generation’ has accomplished its historic mission of securing independence for Ukraine — here it’s worth noting that Canada was one of the first to recognize this independence primarily because of the Ukrainian factor — the ‘children’s generation’ has quite harmoniously assimilated into Canadian society, which I consider a completely natural process. However, even today young and ambitious Canadian Ukrainians realize the need for the widest possible representation of their interests on Canada’s political horizon. Proof of this is the fact that during the last parliamentary elections as many as three Ukrainians ran for mandates in various ridings in the megalopolis of Toronto. Only one of them won, however. This fact alone is proof of the willingness of diaspora representatives to become actively involved in Canadian political life and in this way promote the deepening of a bilateral dialog between our countries. In this connection I would like to mention Senator Raynell Andreychuk, who initiated the resolution on the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932-1933, which Canada’s Senate endorsed in 2003.

“There is one more thing. I would like us all to understand how difficult it was for Ukrainians who arrived in Canada before or after the Second World War to prove that they were Ukrainians and not subjects of the great empires to which Ukrainian lands then belonged. Therefore, when you say in Canada that you are a Ukrainian, your interlocutor definitely knows where this country is located. The credit for this goes to the Ukrainian diaspora.

“Paradoxically, Canadians have a better idea of Ukraine and Ukrainians than Europeans do.”

“Canada has one of the largest Ukrainian communities in the world. Recently we marked the centennial of the first settlement of Ukrainians in Canada. Have you had a chance to familiarize yourself with the life of the Ukrainian community, in particular in that ‘most Ukrainian’ province, Alberta?”

“Yes. At the invitation of Alberta Premier Ralph Klein I visited the province, which is home to 285,000 ethnic Ukrainians, and saw for myself the ‘miniature Ukraine’ that our compatriots have been building for over a century. Incidentally, in the very center of Alberta’s capital city of Edmonton, next to City Hall, there is a monument to the Ukrainian pioneers, which features a girl dressed in Ukrainian national attire. The Ukrainian presence is evident in a multitude of churches that adorn the towns of this western province, in the names of clubs and civic organizations, and in the blue-and-yellow flags on buildings. You may be interested to learn that blue and yellow are the province’s official colors.

“The Ukrainians of Alberta cherish their cultural heritage. I witnessed this in a Ukrainian museum village outside Edmonton, which has amassed items of material culture and households. The open-air museum features buildings from the early twentieth century: Ukrainian pioneer homes, a grain elevator, a railway station, a police station, etc. Yet the highlight of the museum is that when you enter such an authentic house, you feel the spirit of that era not so much in the household items as in the historical recreation that is played out with the visitors’ collaboration. A Ukrainian hostess from the 1920s welcomes you and tells you about her interesting life, which is full of hardships in this new place and country. Thousands of people visit this village every year so that later they can tell their children and grandchildren that they come from the wonderful country of Ukraine.

“I felt the special community spirit when I met with various Ukrainians: members of the legislative assembly, leaders of civic organizations, and ordinary people. It gave me great pleasure to discharge my official duty by presenting the noted public figure Petro Savaryn with an Honorary Diploma from the speaker of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada. During my stay in Edmonton I repeatedly heard about the numerous good deeds of this modest man who has dedicated his life to preserving the distinctive character of Ukrainian culture and disseminating its eternal values.

“The official part of my visit to the province included meetings with Alberta Vice-Governor-General Louisa Hall, Premier Ralph Klein, Legislative Assembly Vice-Speaker Don Tannas, Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations Halvar Johnson, Public Development Minister Jean Zwozdecki, Education Minister Lyle Oberg, and Edmonton Mayor Bill Smith. Notably, while discussing a wide range of cooperation-related issues during my meetings with these officials, I felt their great interest in our country and willingness to deepen our cooperation. Proof of this is the decision of the provincial premier to re-visit Ukraine as the head of a delegation of Canadian businessmen and government officials in 2006.

“On the whole, I consider this visit extremely successful, as it has given me a clear idea of numerous available opportunities and helped me to focus the embassy’s work on priority spheres of cooperation. I believe in the future successful development of cooperation at the level of oblasts and provinces, because three key components are in place: common interests, a vision of the direction of development, and mutual willingness to deepen cooperation.”

“How does the average Canadian picture Ukraine today? Is there still not enough information that would help Canadians see Ukraine as it really is? What steps is the Ukrainian embassy taking to this end?”

“It gives me pleasure to say that Canadians are familiar with Ukraine’s best side. They view Ukrainians as decent, hardworking, and gifted people. Perhaps this attitude was formed through the influence of Canadians’ affection for outstanding representatives of the Ukrainian community, such as Canada’s former Governor General Ramon Hnatyshyn, former Saskatchewan Premier Roy Romanov, former Agriculture Minister Eugene Whelan, Senators Paul Yuzyk and Raynell Andreychuk, and many others. Many Canadians prefer Ukrainian cuisine, and Ukrainian varenyky are way more popular than Italian ravioli, while Ukrainian beer sells like hotcakes.

“Yet what is much more gratifying is that Ukraine is perceived as a highly cultured nation owing to both its creative ensembles and such professionals as the Kyiv Chamber Choir, and such brilliant talents as violinist Vasyl Popadiuk and pianist Serhiy Salov.

“The embassy uses every means available to disseminate information about contemporary Ukraine, and its cultural, economic, and investment potentials. To this end we draw on every occasion, meeting, interview, news release, reception, public event, conference, etc. The embassy distributes advertisements and other more specific materials (economic reviews, etc.) prepared by diplomats. Given the total computerization of the country, we have developed and regularly update our Web site (www.ukremb.ca) that features up-to-date, interesting information about Ukraine, its current political and economic situation, relations with Canada, as well as the embassy’s press releases and other messages. I can’t help mentioning a simple but interesting idea to hold a seminar on the unique art of egg decorating, which was timed to coincide with Easter.

“Among large-scale events I would like to single out the festival of Ukrainian filmmaking, which we plan to hold this month. It will feature such movies as “Mamay” by Oles Sanin, “Gold Rush” by Mykhailo Belikov, and “The Voice of Grass” by Natalia Motuzko, a short film titled “A Short Trip on a Big Carousel,” as well as cartoon films “Our Omelechko Has a Small Family,” “Tram No. 9,” and “One-Time Eternity.” I would like to point out that this festival is going to be held under the auspices of Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Culture and Arts, the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Center, and with significant support from the airline Aerosvit, which, by the way, has resumed its direct Kyiv-Toronto flights. Such creative work makes it possible to show our country in a new light and perhaps will help many to discover a Ukraine that they have never known.”

FOCUSED STRATEGY INSTEAD OF ROMANTIC BREAKTHROUGHS

“The West is constantly celebrating Ukraine’s economic successes. This is especially true of Canadian government officials. However, Canadian businessmen show little interest in the Ukrainian market. Why?”

“As far as more active involvement of Canadian business is concerned, the rapid pace of economic growth is no doubt a positive factor, albeit not a decisive one. Canada’s exports account for 46% of its GDP, and every third Canadian is employed in this sphere. As I said before, in terms of its economy Canada’s priority is the United States, proof of which is the fact that 72% of Canada’s imports and 85% of its exports come from trade with the USA. The daily volume of bilateral trade is nearing the $2 billion mark. Canada’s two other major trade partners — the EU and Japan — receive a mere 5.2 and 2.4% of Canadian exports, respectively. Naturally, it is very difficult to compete for a share in the Canadian market under such conditions. Another reason is that the probable yield from investments in the Ukrainian economy notwithstanding, Canadian businessmen, who are accustomed to the world’s most favorable — North American — economic and investment climate, find it somewhat difficult to adapt to Ukrainian conditions. On the other hand, we should make additional efforts jointly with our Canadian colleagues to improve the visa regime in order to help increase the activity of Ukrainian businessmen on Canadian territory, instead of hampering it.

“At the same time, we have enough examples of successful cooperation, which is reason enough to speak of a significant potential to develop the economic components in the Ukrainian-Canadian relationship. Among the most promising directions I would like to mention the high-tech sphere, oil and natural gas production, finance, construction, and agriculture.

“Given the specifics of the economic and political structure of the country, the development of interregional cooperation is of critical importance. Add to this the willingness of provincial governments in western Canada to facilitate the all-round development of cooperation with Ukrainian oblasts. During my visit to Alberta I attended meetings of a delegation from Ukraine’s Ivano-Frankivsk oblast. After interesting, productive meetings and discussions of priority directions in cooperation with representatives of the government and provincial businessmen, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast State Administration Chairman Mykola Vyshyvaniuk and Premier Ralph Klein signed a protocol of intent outlining the priority spheres in future cooperation. Apart from the traditional spheres for such documents — economy, trade, tourism, and environmental protection — the protocol sets forth intentions to facilitate a cultural and educational exchange, cooperation among archives, and expanding ties among ordinary citizens. Now it is the turn of a delegation from the Lviv Oblast State Administration to visit Edmonton and sign a similar protocol of intent.”

“How would you describe the overall level of economic cooperation between Ukraine and Canada? What is stopping us from raising it?”

“As part of my answer to this question, I would like to recall that in 2002 Canada was the first of the Big Four countries to sign the protocol on mutual access to markets, which is a precondition for Ukraine’s WTO accession and which has laid a solid groundwork for more active bilateral trade. Since then we have seen stable positive trends, such as significant growth in the volume of Ukrainian- Canadian trade (up by 40% in 2002 and 2003, and by over 60% in the first half of 2004).

“The January-June commodity turnover totaled $15 million, which represents a 63.8% increase compared to the same period last year. In the first half of 2004 Ukrainian exports to Canada totaled $7 million, up by 65% from the previous year. Canadian imports to Ukraine stood at $8 million in the first half of 2004, an increase of 61.5% from last year.

“A significant portion of Canadian exports to Ukraine shows a large percentage of end-user items that include transport vehicles and spare parts, various machinery, and pharmaceuticals. Unfortunately, structural changes in Ukrainian exports are occurring slowly. Ukraine exports mostly low-processed products and raw materials, such as coke and semi- coke, ferroalloys, carbamides, anthracites, titanium dioxide, spare parts for rail transport, sports equipment, etc.

“This year the official distributor of the Kharkiv Tractor Plant opened an office in Canada after discovering a vacant niche in the highly competitive Canadian market. The Mykolayiv-based Science Engineering Association Zoria-Mashproekt is implementing a unique project of commercial power-generating turbines that run on biofuel. Considering the significant demand and openness of the Canadian market, there is a large potential for export growth. Simultaneously, Canada’s market is a highly competitive environment that requires a dynamic marketing policy. The Canadian market offers the biggest prospects for chemicals and consumer goods, some of which are already part of permanent exports to Canada. The embassy is actively working to attract Canadian investments to those sectors of the Ukrainian economy, which play a key role in the development of bilateral relations, primarily the oil and natural gas sector. We expect to implement several large-scale projects in this sphere next year with the participation of leading Canadian companies. Given the potential of Ukraine’s steel industry, there are possibilities to enter the Canadian market by building production capacities on Canadian territory, which would then use intermediate steel products from Ukraine. To sum up, I would like to say that even though we should not be waiting for any romantic breakthroughs in the investment, trade, and economic spheres, a balanced, planned, and focused foreign economic strategy with respect to Canada should bear fruit.”

OTTAWA IS NOT A POLITICAL REFEREE

“Canada’s Ambassador to Kyiv Andrew Robinson has repeatedly called for the presidential elections in Ukraine to be conducted in a fair and open manner. Do you feel any pressure from the Canadian government in this connection? Has Ottawa sent any specific signals regarding the future winner?”

“First of all, I would like to stress that fair, open, and democratic elections are in the interests of every Ukrainian citizen and the nation in general. Hence, everything depends on the civic stand of each individual, whether an ordinary Ukrainian, state functionary, politician, or candidate for a top post. To elect the president of Ukraine and thus choose a certain political and economic line is the exclusive right of Ukrainian citizens. Canada as a country of longstanding democratic traditions cannot interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Therefore, official Ottawa is not a political referee and does not show its support for or disapproval of any given candidate; that would be a flawed and counterproductive approach. Of course, we are raising the issue of the elections in our bilateral dialog, which is due to the special nature of our relationship. At the same time open, friendly, and equitable relations must completely rule out pressure in any form. Thus, when meeting officials here in Canada, I do not feel pressure, only their great interest in and hope concerning democratic elections. It is clear that above all the presidential elections will be a test for our democracy for us.”

“As far back as July of last year the Canadian authorities impounded the Ukrainian plane “Ruslan.” When will its fate finally be decided?”

“The painful issue of the Ukrainian plane “Ruslan” lies exclusively in the legal domain. The Ukrainian side, represented by legal advisors acting on behalf of the Antonov Design Bureau, Ukraine’s State Property Fund, and Ukraine, are studying every possible way to settle this dispute. Without going into legal details, I would like to explain the current situation. Two options are presently under consideration: first, to appeal against the ruling of the Federal Court of Canada, which ordered the sale of the An-124 plane; second, to prove that the Federal Court has violated procedural regulations under Canadian law in recognizing the ruling of the Stockholm Court of Arbitration on Canadian territory. The Federal Court considered the latter so-called issue of jurisdiction in early August, and we expect a final decision this fall. Meanwhile, it remains for us to act in concert and hope for a positive outcome.”