CIUS receives $2.7 million grant for Canada-Ukraine legislative project (10/29/00)

CIUS receives $2.7 million grant for Canada-Ukraine legislative project

EDMONTON - Canada's Federal Minister of International Development Maria Minna announced at a press conference in Kyiv on September 27 that the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) at the University of Alberta would receive a total of $2.7 million as the Canadian agency responsible for planning and implementing the Canada Ukraine Legislative and Intergovernmental Project (CULIP). The funding will come from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

During the three-and-a-half-year term of the project, six programs consisting of study tours, consultations with experts, seminars and other activities will be organized for Ukrainian legislators, government officials and experts in six policy- or legislative-related areas or themes.

The themes will be chosen by a joint body based on Ukraine's priorities and Canadian capacities and expertise. Once a theme is agreed upon, the Canadian partners in the project, the governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, as well as the Speaker's Office of the House of Commons, will organize and implement study tours and consultations with government counterparts and policy experts in the designated thematic area for a Ukrainian policy working group.

Such groups will be composed of representatives of the Ukrainian project partners, including national deputies and staff of the Verkhovna Rada, officials and staff of the Cabinet of Ministers, legal and policy experts, and academics.

The project continues and builds on the success of the Canada Ukraine Legislative Cooperation Project, which was also managed by the University of Alberta's Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. The earlier project originated with the recognition that democratic and market reforms in Ukraine depend in large part on policies formulated and implemented by the Ukrainian government and laws passed by the Verkhovna Rada.

Much legislation is still required to advance Ukraine's status as a democratic, law-based state with a market economy. For instance, in the area of economic legislation, many laws are needed to stimulate economic activity, including foreign investment. Canadian firms have often indicated that legislative and other legal weaknesses in the regulation of economic activity are barriers to investment in Ukraine.

In Ukraine, CIUS's partner in managing the project will be Community Capacity Foundation (CCF), headed by a former vice-chairman of Ukraine's Parliament, Viktor Musiyaka. The CCF is an independent non-governmental body founded to facilitate and advance democratic transformations in Ukraine.

The total cost of the CULIP is estimated at $4 million, of which the largest part - $2.7 million - is to be contributed by CIDA. The balance of approximately $1.3 million consists of in-kind contributions from Canadian and Ukrainian partners and CIUS.

Inquiries concerning the project should be addressed to: James Jacuta, Project Director, Canada Ukraine Legislative and Intergovernmental Project, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, 352 Athabasca Hall, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E8; telephone, (403) 492-4341, 492-4544 or 492-2972; fax, (403) 492-0534; 492-4967; e-mail, [email protected].

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