Вінніпеґ Український № 15 (39) (May 2018)

Chrystia Freeland,
Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs visits Winnipeg
Top Canadian Diplomat Chrystia Freeland
works within a tight schedule. Between
her visits to Korea, Japan and her
return to Washington D.C. to carry on
with NAFTA (North American Free Trade
Agreement) negotiations, Ms. Freeland,
with the assistance of UCC-MPC (Ukrainian
Canadian Congress, Manitoba Provincial
Council) initiated a meeting with the
Ukrainian Community, which was hosted
by Oseredok Ukrainian Cultural Center.
The meeting was also attended by Jim Carr,
Minister of Natural Resources and Mary-
Ann Mihychuk, Member of Parliament.
strong advocate of Ukrainian independence,
Christina Alexandra
A
Freeland was born on a farm in Alberta.
Her Ukrainian roots are traced back
to her maternal grandparents, Michael and
Alexandra Chomiak, who left Western
Ukraine before the Soviet invasion. After
the war, they were transported to a displaced
persons’ camp in Germany where
Chrystia’s mother, Halyna was born. From
Germany the family relocated to Canada.
Halyna Chomiak, insisted that her two
daughters, Chrystia and her younger sister,
Natalka speak their Ukrainian language at
home. Ms. Freeland continues to honour
the tradition and now her three children
speak Ukrainian at home.
Besides being rooted in Ukrainian culture
and history through her family’s experience,
Mr. Freeland lived and worked in Ukraine
after her graduation from Harvard, when
she became a Kyiv-based stringer for The
Financial Times, The Washington Post and
The Economist. Later Ms. Freeland went on
to wear many hats at the Financial Times.
Before entering Canadian Politics, she also
served as the deputy editor of The Globe and
Mail and as the managing director and editor
of consumer news at Thomson Reuters.
As well as speaking English, French and
Ukrainian, Chrystia speaks Russian and
Italian. When introducing Chrystia Freeland,
the Honourable Jim Carr said that Ms.
Freeland speaks plainly:
“You would expect that someone who has
a Rhodes scholarship, several university
degrees, who is an international awardwinning
writer, whose TED (Technology,
Entertainment and Design) have been
viewed by over 2 million people, might
be noticed for using complex wording or
exclusive language. She does not do this
because she understands how important
it is to communicate to ALL of us.”
The Honourable Mr. Carr concluded his
introduction by saying that Ms. Freeland
is doing an “absolutely magnificent job”
representing Canada as she travels worldwide.
Below is the recap of Ms. Freeland’s answers
on audience questions:
Situation in Ukraine
“As much as I am proud of my Ukrainian
community, let’s remember that the
Ukrainian issue is not just about us, it’s
an issue for all Canadians and the whole
world.” Said Ms. Freeland referring to the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, the annexation
of Crimea and the ongoing battle in
Eastern Ukraine which is the first forced incursion
in the European countries’ borders
since the Second World War. Ms. Freeland
referred to the Budapest Memorandum,
which was breached when the Russians
annexed Crimea.
“If we fail to support Ukraine, we are sending
a very dangerous message about nuclear
weapons and nuclear proliferation”
Ms. Freeland concluded that Canada’s
strong position against Russian aggression
stems back to Canada’s brave participation
in the Second World War and to Canada’s
contribution to building Post-War institutions
guaranteeing peace and prosperity.
What is being done for Ukraine?
Minister Freeland outlined four areas
of contribution by Canada: Operation
UNIFER: (Canadian Armed Forces mission
to support Armed Forces of Ukraine
in Ukraine by assisting with military
training) with Sweden expected to join
Canada; Firearms: In 2017, Ukraine was
added to the Automatic Firearms Country
Control List, which authorizes Ukraine to
buy weapons from Canada; Sanctions: Ms.
Freeland believes that the Kremlin has
been surprised at the Western solidarity
involved in implementing sanctions; and
Discussion: Direct conversations with
Russia are being conducted with The
Normandy Format (a diplomatic group
of senior representatives of Germany,
Russia, Ukraine and France, to resolve the
situation in Eastern Ukraine); and Kurt
Volker, American Diplomat serving as the
United States Special Representative for
Ukraine.
Chrystia Freeland concluded that as a
Chair of the G7, this year, Canada needs to
maintain unity with its allies and utilize its
four outlined contributions to press ahead
in their negotiations with Russia.
Ms. Freeland emphasized the potential
threat to Western democracies:
“We have worked really hard to build democracy
in Canada. We need to face the fact
there is a country, who in an organized
way, is seeking to undermine Western
democracy.” УВ
8 Український Вінніпеґ - ТРАВЕНЬ 2018 -