EDITORIAL: UCC moves ahead (11/08/98)

EDITORIAL

UCC moves ahead

By some appearances, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress has dodged the bullet it saw fast approaching prior to the 18th triennial congress in 1995, whose slogan was a question: "Evolution or Extinction?"

At this year's 19th triennial, whose slogan was "Hromada: Uniting Vision and Reality," evolutionary amendments to the constitution and by-laws initiated three years ago were taken further still - the UCC is now a fully democratic umbrella body. While the "Big Six" organizations, the League of Ukrainian Canadians, the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood, the Ukrainian Self-Reliance League, the Ukrainian National Federation, the Council of Ukrainian Credit Unions of Canada and the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Federation, still enjoy the advantage of the right to bring up to 50 delegates to a congress, while others are limited to 25, all other perks that had led to paralysis in the past, such as the right of veto and earmarked places on the executive, were abolished.

UCC provincial councils and local branches were left free to determine their composition and scope of activities, and thus able to adapt to the changing nature of the community at the grassroots level, which the Saskatchewan Provincial Council has been particularly successful in doing.

The 19th triennial also appeared to stem the hemorrhaging in terms of attendance. The number of delegates attending was 267, slightly higher than the 18th's 254.

Delegates were unanimous in their support of a resolution to re-open the UCC's Ottawa Bureau, and thus revive the Ukrainian body's presence in the nation's capital. They were even so flexible as to permit moving the UCC headquarters in the by-laws, apparently scotching any further talk of a "Winnipeg mafia" and its stranglehold on the institution. The new president, Evhen Czolij, a Montrealer, is actually the very first hailing from a point east of Manitoba.

At 39, Mr. Czolij is also the youngest in the UCC's 48-year history. And, there was a record 31 delegates registered who were under age 25 at this year's congress. An efficient and professional bilingual Ukrainian and English translation service was in place during all major sessions to ensure that the "language barrier" so hotly debated at congresses past was no longer an obstacle to the free exchange of ideas.

Large segments of the community are on the warpath over the denaturalization and deportation issue, and this is proving to be a point of agreement even among older and younger generations. The issue of Canada's internment of Ukrainians in 1914-1920 generated both consensus and favorable media coverage during the congress.

The internal wrangling over the Canada-Ukraine Foundation is over, and it is focused on both large-scale projects requiring federal participation and modest independently attainable goals, thanks in large part to the professionalism and sober-mindedness of its new director, Edmonton-based lawyer Andriy Semotiuk.

Saskatchewan's Adrian Boyko spearheaded the formulation of resolutions that brought the UCC well up to date with the country's current debate over multiculturalism and unity questions, and on the opening day of the congress, the respected daily Winnipeg Free Press provided Mr. Boyko with ample space to air the UCC's views on restoring balance in Canada's bilingual multicultural political landscape.

By all accounts, this editorial should end here. Hurrahs and the popping of champagne corks should resound across Canada.

And yet, this space might be excused its jaundice for pointing out that among the by-law changes was a decision to lower the constitutional quorum at a congress to a paltry 100 delegates, and that the Big Six, formerly powerhouses in the community, are not likely to chafe against the 50-delegate limit because most were hard-pressed to muster 20 (one couldn't even clear 10).

Both Messrs. Czolij and Semotiuk spoke of "unacceptably low" funds, barely in the few thousands, gathered in response to calls for support of projects that require millions.

While community consensus on an issue is admirable, and the cause no doubt just, Mr. Czolij had to threaten to step down as president before the denaturalization and deportation lobby would relent from a politically damaging demand for Justice Minister Anne McLellan's resignation and a paralyzing requirement that the issue be his personal priority.

Mr. Czolij is obviously quite aware whither the winds are blowing. Until a 15-minute meeting held in Ottawa just under a fortnight prior to the congress at which Oleh Romaniw's six-year tenure as president came to an end, Jean Chrétien had been the first prime minister never to have met with a UCC president since the Ukrainian umbrella body was established in 1940.

At the congress itself, with all due respect to luncheon keynote speaker Dr. Rey Pagtakhan, Mr. Chrétien's parliamentary secretary, no senior federal official was in attendance. Mr. Chrétien, Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy (whose constituency is in Winnipeg) and Secretary of State for Multiculturalism Dr. Hedy Fry were all otherwise engaged, although each had a formal spot on the agenda reserved for them. A far cry from the triennial of 1971, when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau arrived to announce the adoption of multiculturalism as official policy.

While Mr. Romaniw's experience and diplomatic touch will be on tap, since he occupies a place on the board of directors as past president, Mr. Boyko, the government relations committee chair, announced that he was stepping away from organized community life in order to attend to professional responsibilities. His voice on the executive will be sorely missed.

To end on a positive note, Mr. Czolij speaks like a pragmatist who faces harsh realities, knows that it will take considerable effort to restore the Ukrainian Canadian community to its position of influence, and hungers for this influence to be reasserted. As he put it in his inaugural address, "Like most successful litigators, I am not shy, certainly not humble, but a heck of a fighter - and I simply hate to lose. I work very hard and take great pride in my work."

We wish him luck. Mr. Czolij and the UCC have a long row to hoe.

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