UCC pleased with Canada’s renewed commitment to Ukraine

While in Ukraine, Minister MacKay announced the following Canadian commitments to supporting Ukrainian democracy:

• A five-year $6.5-million project Juvenile Justice Reform in Ukraine project
• A six-year $9.5-million Policy Reform and Implementation Support Mechanism is project that will fund individual initiatives aimed at improving Ukraine’s governance through policy development and implementation.
• Canada plans to send up to 60 observers through the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe for the upcoming parliamentary elections in Ukraine.

Additionally, Minister MacKay was able to visit two projects undertaken by Ukrainian Canadian NGOs in Ukraine. In Ivano-Frankivsk oblast he visited a summer camp for orphans run by the charity Children of Chornobyl Canadian Fund. In Kyiv, the Minister visited the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Resource Centre at the National Parliamentary Library of Ukraine established with the support and assistance of the Canadian Friends of Ukraine. Both the CCCF and the CFU are members of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.

“This trip by the Minister is the first one by such a high placed Canadian politician since before the 2004 Presidential Elections in Ukraine.” explained UCC President Orysia Sushko. “The UCC believes that this trip acts as a signal to the Ukrainians of Canada’s continued support for democratic development. The concrete support announced by Canada support the advance of good governance in Ukraine is to be welcomed. UCC is particularly pleased that the Minister became acquainted with the good work being undertaken by Canadian NGOs in Ukraine. We know that people helping people is one of the fundamentals of Canadian civil society and are happy to see that principal at work in Ukraine. The volunteer sector has a lot to offer in furthering Canadian foreign policy objectives.”

UCC Media Contact
Darla Penner
Tel. (204) 942-4627
dpenner@ucc.ca
www.ucc.ca