On December 4, representatives of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) met with senior Government of Canada officials to discuss Canada-Ukraine relations.
The meeting of the Canada-Ukraine Stakeholder Advisory Council (CUSAC) was held online and co-chaired by David Sproule, Senior Arctic Official and Director General of Arctic, Eurasian and European Affairs, and Paul Migus, UCC Director of Government Relations.
“The CUSAC is an important opportunity for our community to share our views and priorities on the development of Canada-Ukraine relations and provide feedback and recommendations,” stated Migus. “We are grateful to officials from the Government of Canada for their commitment to strengthening bilateral ties between Canada and Ukraine, and their ongoing interest in engaging closely with the UCC.”
The UCC presented the community’s recommendations on:
- Canada’s Development Assistance Program in Ukraine;
- Bilateral trade;
- Security and Defence Sector Cooperation, and Defence Reforms;
- Canada’s Sanctions Regime and Ukraine;
- Migration issues.
The briefing note presented by the UCC is available here
The CUSAC discussed opportunities in assisting the Ukrainian peoples’ battle against the negative public health and economic effects of the covid-19 pandemic. UCC representatives stressed their concern with regression by Ukrainian authorities on reforms in rule of law and judicial independence. UCC welcomed Canada support for strengthening of Ukraine’s vibrant civil society and independent media institutions. The CUSAC conversations will continue into 2021.
