Blue and yellow flags waved at rallies across Canada as the Ukrainian community numbering about 1.5 million showed their support for Ukraine in the wake of the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The #StandwithUkraine rallies were organized by the Ukrainian Canadian Committee (UCC), an umbrella organization that lobbies for the community with a national office and branches in the provinces.
The organizer of the Alberta rallies for Ukraine, the Alberta Provincial Council of the UCC announced February 24 after the invasion, “The governments of the free world state that they stand with Ukraine. They must do so now in deed, not in word.”
One Alberta vigil drew people like Ihor Kyryiluk, who was born in Ukraine but now lives in Calgary, Alberta.
“The most ironic thing is that I was telling my dad that the war is coming, but nobody ever believed me,” he said. It is also bringing together unlikely supporters like Victor Belozorov, a Russian in Montreal, Quebec, who joined the protest in front of the Russian embassy and shared the deep embarrassment and shock of the Russian community in Canada. “I don’t agree with Russian politics,” he said. “I am here to support Ukrainians.”
Despite government assurances and the community’s moral support, many Ukrainian Canadians simply wondered whether Canadian aid is coming too late to make any meaningful impact for Ukraine. Many have felt frustrated with the slow pace of official Canadian support.
While tensions mounted throughout February, the Ukrainian community waited out the slow unfurling of government measures aimed to curb the Russian leader. The Canadian government first tried diplomacy, dispatching foreign and defence ministers, extending loans to Ukraine for reforms and providing shipments of non-lethal weapons. The vague promises of sanctions seemed to do little to deter the Russian leader’s resolve.
“You are not alone. We are standing with you,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated Canada’s support for Ukraine in a statement issued on February 26 as yet more aid to Ukraine and sanctions to Russia were unveiled.
Although the community was looking for more active assistance, Edmonton senator Paula Simons noted that sanctions have more of an impact today than in the soviet era because Russia has become integrated into the western economy.
The Ukrainian community in Canada had been pressing the government for months to increase meaningful support to Ukraine, especially defensive weapons.
Frustration peaked after Russia launched its invasion. Currently, the UCC’s wish list includes calling for Canada to declare and enforce a no-fly zone over Ukrainian territory to protect civilians from Russian air strikes, deliver anti-air, anti-rocket and naval defence systems to Ukraine and remove Russia from the SWIFT international payments system among other items.
Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24 seemed to shock the Canadian government into swifter action and changed the tone of its assistance. PM Trudeau immediately condemned the attack, saying, “Canada condemns in the strongest possible terms Russia’s egregious attack on Ukraine. These unprovoked actions are a clear further violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
It is clear now that Canadian aid was coordinated with the USA, UK, EU, NATO and other allies. At first, Canada slapped sanctions on Russian banks, financial elites and their families and cancelled Russian export permits.
By Day 2, as the world watched Ukraine’s army and civilians battle for Kyiv and other cities, Canada also changed its mind on sending Ukraine lethal defensive weapons and unrolled a package of humanitarian aid. By the end of the week, Canada joined the EU and US in banning Russian banks from the SWIFT payments system.
Individual Canadian provinces, especially those with sizable Ukrainian populations like Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, also jumped in pledging humanitarian funds. The Province of Alberta contributed a whopping $1 million to the Ukrainian Canadian Committee’s humanitarian appeal, the UCC announced.
While Canadian government support seems to be fraught with red tape and limited by political considerations, the Ukrainian Canadian community let loose its tremendous organizational talents and resources.
“The unprovoked and ferocious war that Russia has unleashed upon Ukraine is an evil unseen in Europe since World War II,” UCC National president Alexandra Chyczij said. “The resources of the Free World must be marshalled in the defence of Ukraine’s liberty.”
And marshalled they have. The Ukrainian churches in Canada, affiliated church organizations, Ukrainian cultural and educational groups, foundations and individuals got busy fundraising and sending aid to Ukraine.
“Now is not the time to be overcome by our emotions or to submit to panic, but to channel our energy into good, Godly works for the benefit of our brothers and sisters in Ukraine,” Bishop Ilarion, leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada implored.
And more aid will be coming to assist refugees in coming to and settling in Canada. The UCC is helping to coordinate individual efforts at the grass roots levels. So far, it has organized rallies to raise awareness, put pressure on political decision-makers and launched humanitarian aid appeals.
They have already almost doubled the Phase I target of $1.5 million, the UCC National office reported. The UCC announced its Phase II target of $5 million aimed at supplying food and medicine for displaced Ukrainians.
Provincial UCC branches are also doing their part. UCC Saskatchewan branch president Danylo Puderak explained how the Province of Saskatchewan is ready to help in the resettlement of refugees, having a long-running immigrant settlement program. Saskatchewan, with a history of six generations of Ukrainian settlement, makes it an ideal location for refugees with an established Ukrainian community, organized community structure and plenty of volunteers in the community willing to assist newcomers.
This is all good news, but the real question is whether all these Canadian efforts will have any impact for their family and friends in Ukraine right now – the people fighting Russian troops in the streets, sleeping in bomb shelters or fleeing across borders into EU countries. As much as Canadians may think their efforts make a difference, it counts for little in the larger picture as Canada still has little sway on the international stage.
On the other hand, grass roots efforts by the Ukrainian community have proven to be effective in the past, supporting the fledgling Ukrainian state in the 1990s and activists in the Orange and Maydan revolutions of 2004 and 2013-14, respectively.
The Ukrainian community knows who needs help and has the channels to make sure this targeted aid arrives. For now, Ukrainian Canadians will continue to watch with trepidation as the situation unfolds in their ancestral homeland.
