Editor’s Note: The Kyiv Post placed two phone calls to Ottawa, the Canadian capital, on June 21 to speak with two key players in the relationship between Ukraine and Canada. Ukraine’s Ambasssador to Canada Andriy Shevchenko, the former journalist and lawmaker, has been on the job for 18 months. Borys Wrzesnewskyj, a Liberal Party lawmaker, is a third generation Ukrainian-Canadian and an important ally of Ukraine in the Canadian parliament. The following are excerpts of the separate conversations, grouped by topic.
Relationship
With the presence of 1.3 million of Canada’s 36 million people claiming Ukrainian ancestry, the two nations are close as Canada celebrates its 150th birthday this year.
Shevchenko: “We have this amazing historical, emotional bond between the two nations. You immediately feel how much Canadians feel connected to Ukraine. Our job is convert that into pragmatic, sustainable, long-term partnerships…I think we can keep Ukraine as a high foreign policy priority for Canada, for many reasons. The most important reason we are coming to understand it’s not just about Ukraine. The challenge which Russia has brought is wider and more dangerous and the West and Canada have come to understand this.”
Wrzesnewjskyj: “Ukraine is a topic of continuous discussion in Canada’s parliament, something that a number of MPs are very actively engaged in. All of our ministers are very well-informed. Ukraine may not be appearing in articles in the (Toronto) Globe & Mail on a weekly basis, but Ukraine is a priority.”
Trade/investment
Ukraine and Canada do not have a strong trade or investment relationship. The hope is that a free trade pact, expected to go into force in August, will stimulate greater economic activity.
Borys Wrzesnewjskyj, member of the Canadian parliament and third generation Ukrainian-Canadian.
Shevchenko: “There are things we cannot change, like geography. There are many things we can change, like creating better conditions between trade…Sometimes we have to start our conversation with Canadian business not from point zero but from negative numbers. We hear stories of Canadians who had problems with our bureaucracy or corruption or not fair competition. What I’ve been saying is: ‘Look you’ve got to give Ukraine another chance. Ukraine has changed. The biggest change is with our people.’”
Wrzesnewjskyj: The free trade agreement “finally gives us a framework for investment and trade. Both nations are major food producers, so there won’t be a lot of trade when it comes to that. Big corporate entities have already made their way into markets where they see opportunities, so I don’t think you’ll see some major investments by big entities, but rather by small and medium businesses. There’s some really tremendous potential with the free trade agreement with the European Union. (Ukraine is) an easy gateway (for Canadian manufacturers) to make their way to into the (EU) market. Production costs are significantly lower. Distances for distribution are minimal compared to distances we’re used to here in Canada.”
Russia/Defense
The nations signed a defense cooperation agreement in April and 200 members of the Canadian military are training Ukrainian soldiers in western Ukraine.
Shevchenko: “Canada very clearly has taken the position that the Russian aggression and the annexation of Crimea are unacceptable. When it comes to sanctions, statements and United Nations resolutions, we can enjoy timely and profound support from Canada. When it comes to defense, we are creating a strong, mature partnership with our military people.” The defense cooperation, he said, “gives Ukraine a better understanding of how we can contribute into this new security system in which the free world has got to create. We are becoming a major contributor to this security system. We paid a heavy price for this with the blood of our brothers and sisters, soldiers and civilians. We have to get the best knowledge and share it with the free world.”
Wrzesnewjskyj: “Former assistant deputy minister of defense Jill Sinclair is part of a group working to make sure Ukraine’s military becomes NATO compliant in the not too distant future.”
Defensive weapons
Here there’s a bit of a conflict, particularly over Ukraine’s requests to Western nations for modern Javelin anti-tank weapons and other lethal defensive weapons.
Shevchenko: “There are plenty of things we’d like to advance in the future. One is the issue of defensive weapons, which we badly need, just as much as we did three years ago. We are still in conversations with Canada on this need.”
Wrzesnewjskyj: “Our understanding is that Ukraine produces sophisticated anti-tank weaponry.”
Visa-free travel
Wrzesnewjskyj and Shevchenko favor visa-free travel for Ukrainians to Canada. Wrzesnewjskyj wants the Canadian government to review its policy, a process which could take a year or more.
Shevchenko: “The good news is that in the last couple of years, we see Canada is really improving the visa procedures for Ukrainians. It’s done quite quickly, usually between 5 and 10 business days and second, most of the time Ukrainians would get visas for the whole length of passport validity, which can be up to 10 years. The bad part is we still have astonishingly high numbers of visa refusals. The numbers we have say that, in the first quarter of 2017, up to 34 percent of visa refusals from Ukrainian nationals…I don’t see any reason why two wonderful nations will not allow conditions for people to easily travel to each other’s countries.”
Wrzesnewjskyj: Visa-free travel would be “a very significant step in building this special relationship.”
Youth mobility deal
Ukraine and Canada are working out an agreement to allow citizens under the age of 30 to work and study in each other’s countries for a year.
Shevchenko: “The big challenge we used to have between us was one-way movement: We would see a lot of interest among the Ukrainian students to go to Canada, study and fulfill their careers.”
Wrzesnewjskyj: From the Canadian side, the agreement is ready and will go into force “if, on the Ukrainian side, they can get it together.”
Democracy
The Canadian government under Prime Minister Jean Chretien in the 1990s adopted a special relationship with Ukraine that exists today. The Canadian Investment Development Agency, or CIDA, has supported democratic institution-building in Ukraine for many years.
Shevchenko: “There are things we can do domestically — create a friendly environment for business and reduce corruption. We are on that path.”
Wrzesnewskyj: “One of the things we focused on is judicial reform. We continue to raise the issue in meetings with Ukrainian government officials.
There clearly has to be reformation of the judicial branch in Urkaine. It’s not only a point we raise, it’s something that disturbs us that this hasn’t been more aggressively addressed.”
Another issue is fair elections. “When we say we care deeply about Ukraine, we mean we care deeply about the people of Ukraine. They’ve paid a horrific price for their rights and freedoms…We’re looking for ways to help the democratic process in Ukraine so that people’s rights are respected. It is beautiful that, in Ukrainian, the word for vote and the word for voice are one and the same. Every Ukrainian should have an equal vote…There’s been a tendency (for elected officials) to use their incumbencies to advantage in ways that are just not acceptable in a democracy.”
