Ottawa's Ukrainian activists welcome Ambassador Shcherbak

OTTAWA - The Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Ottawa branch, was the first organization in Canada to host a welcome for Ukraine's new ambassador to Canada, Dr. Yuri Shcherbak, on April 16 at the Ukrainian Orthodox auditorium.

"It is a privilege to welcome the fifth ambassador from Ukraine to Canada. We have been following his writing and political career for numerous years, and are delighted to have a distinguished and seasoned representative of Ukraine in Ottawa," said Oksana Bashuk Hepburn, president of the Ottawa UCC.

Dr. Shcherbak served as Ukraine's first ambassador to Israel and in 1994-1998 as ambassador to the United States. His views on Ukraine's foreign policy and position in international relations are laid out in "The Strategic Role of Ukraine," published by Harvard University Press. Prior to coming to Canada Dr. Shcherbak was a foreign policy advisor to President Leonid Kuchma.

Visibly pleased to meet leaders and members of Ottawa's Ukrainian community, the ambassador stated: "My government wishes to give Ukraine's relations with Canada new impetus. ... Ukraine loves Canada. This is the country of equality, multiculturalism and justice."

In his address Dr. Shcherbak underscored that Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko has focused on "open and honest politics" and noted that the Yuschenko government has the highest rating of any government in independent Ukraine.

Accompanied by his wife, Maria, and members of the Embassy staff, Ambassador Shcherbak underscored: "I represent the government of Ukraine, which is dedicated above all to the preservation of the integrity of the territories of Ukraine." He added that "the priorities of the Ukrainian government include economic reforms and improved trade."

Ambassador Shcherbak is a graduate of the Kyiv Medical Institute, and an award-winning author of 20 books of poetry, plays and essays. His role in reporting on the Chornobyl nuclear disaster is widely known.

Dr. Shcherbak's political career is equally rich. He was a non-communist member of the former Soviet Union's Supreme Soviet, chair of the committee investigating the Chornobyl accident, founder of the Zelenyi Svit (Green World) Environmental Association and the Green Party of Ukraine, minister of the environment, and a member of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

The proceeds of the reception, attended by some 200 people, will go to the UCC Famine Scholarship Fund and the Ukrainian Social Services. Olha Sametz of the Ukrainian Women's Association of Canada and Danya Popowych, president of the Ukrainian Catholic Women's League, organized the reception.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 11, 2000, No. 24, Vol. LXVIII

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