Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

Dear Editor,

Years ago my wife and I tried to be married in the House of Marriage in Ukraine. I was a Canadian citizen with a work visa for Ukraine and was setting up my own company there. We got such a hassle from the bureaucrats in the House of Marriage that we walked out. I went back to Canada and qualified under Canadian law to be able to sponsor her to immigrate to Canada. She was a surgeon Doctor at the Institute of Cardiology in Kiev. She has since qualified as a Doctor in Canada and is working at a hospital in Calgary. Her leaving Ukraine was a prime example of the brain drain which Ukraine cannot afford. We would have loved to remain in Ukraine but the hassles from the bureaucracy and the stupidity at the OVIR offices drove us away. My wife now has a Canadian passport and can come and go through Ukraine whenever she wants. At the moment she is in Kyiv to visit her parents.

Canada allows dual citizenship or even three or four citizenships without question. It is even stated on my passport that this is allowed. I also hold a passport from Ireland that I obtained because my Grandparents are from there. I have never been to Ireland except to pass through the airport in Shannon enroute from Kyiv to Toronto. I filled out the documents about my grandparents and proved a direct lineage to me and I received my Irish passport in the mail. It is very handy when passing through EEC countries and avoiding the long lineups for Other Passports (i.e. not EEC) in Heathrow.

All of this silly bureaucracy is only hurting Ukraine. The rules in the OVIR had to be changed because the horrible procedures of that office were written up in several travel books. Instead of being respectful of Ukraine it made the place look like a bunch of supercilious fools. The brightest and the best of the Ukrainian population are the ones that leave. Ukraine cannot afford for this to go on.Tightening up the rules will only drive away the people that Ukraine needs the most.

I think there is also a fundamental difference in the way that we look at our respective governments. The government in Canada works for ME. It exists to provide me with services that I cannot provide for myself such as defense, airports, education, health care, roads etc. It does not exist to order me around or tell me what to do. If I have to go to a government office for any reason I am dealt with politeness and courtesy as I have various avenues to complain to if they don’t.

Can you imagine the public outrage if they tried to restrict Canadians or citizens of the various EEC countries in that manner? We proved that in Canada in the Federal Election of 1993 when the Prime Minister (Kim Campbell) lost 149 or 151 seats. One day she had a majority government and the next day there were only two seats remaining in her political party and none of them was hers, she had lost even her own seat.

In relation to Ukraine a statement made by President Kennedy still rings true today. “We don’t need a wall to keep our people in”. If Ukraine wishes to eventually be a member of the EEC it is going to have to change its outlook and the ways that it treats its people.

We have a country like Canada because we made it ourselves and we look after it.Ukraine must do the same.

Regards,

Larry Sales

Calgary, Alberta