CIUS spearheads roundtable on Ukraine at Foreign Affairs Canada (06/06/04)

CIUS spearheads roundtable on Ukraine at Foreign Affairs Canada

OTTAWA - A roundtable discussion dedicated to issues of concern in Ukraine and Canada-Ukraine cooperation was organized on May 12 with the assistance of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS), University of Alberta. Held at Foreign Affairs Canada offices in Ottawa, the all-day roundtable, held in the absence of media, featured frank discussions on burning issues of the day.

The roundtable was organized into four panels, which were chaired by David Preston, director general of the Central, East and South Europe Bureau, Foreign Affairs Canada. Each consisted of two to three 15-minute presentations by experts in their fields of interest, followed by discussions and exchanges of opinions between Canadian government officials, representatives of aid organizations, scholars who deal in Ukrainian issues, businesspeople and representatives of the Ukrainian Canadian community.

The first panel, titled "Ukraine's Domestic Landscape before the Election," featured Marten Ehnberg, elections officer with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); Dr. Dominique Arel, chair of Ukrainian Studies, University of Ottawa; and Victor Pergat, vice-president for Development, Northland Power Corp.

Presentations were made on the role of the OSCE in preparing Ukrainian government officials, journalists and representatives of non-governmental organizations for the upcoming democratic elections in Ukraine; the connection between the upcoming election and the proposed constitutional reform; and the effect of the pre-election campaign battle on the business climate in Ukraine.

The second session was titled "Democratic Development - Success and Challenges." Dr. Marta Dyczok, professor at the University of Western Ontario, analyzed the dramatic situation in the Ukrainian mass media. Dr. Mykola Ryabchuk, CIUS's John Kolasky Memorial Fellow from Kyiv, outlined how the so-called blackmail state functioned, by using economic blackmail for political purposes (encouraging corruption and collecting blackmail material, then selectively applying laws to enforce loyalty), which leads to a more autocratic regime under the façade of pseudo-democratic institutions and procedures, as well as false Euro-integration rhetoric.

The third panel focused on "The Geopolitical Orientation of Ukraine - East- or West-Leaning?" Dr. John Jaworsky, professor at the University of Waterloo, presented his views on Ukraine's eastern-orientated multi-vectoral political experience, while Dr. Natalie Mychajlyszyn, associate member of the Chair of Ukrainian Studies, University of Ottawa, presented Ukraine's political experience with the West.

The fourth session examined "Canadian Support of Ukrainian Democracy." The first speaker, Andrew Robinson, Canada's ambassador to Ukraine, spoke on current Canadian-Ukrainian relations. Francoise Ducros, director general of the Russia, Ukraine and Nuclear Programs Division, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), presented information on CIDA's support for democratic reform in Ukraine. Irene Mycak of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress presented views on the role of Ukrainian Canadians in these processes.

In summary, those present agreed that the frank discussions of the situation and challenges facing Ukraine were very useful, and that the ideas of experts and representatives of the Ukrainian Canadian community would help in the formation of priorities in Canada-Ukraine relations. In light of the extensive and positive experiences of cooperation with Ukraine, it was felt that Canadian government officials and NGOs should focus more attention on Ukraine, especially during the upcoming extraordinarily important presidential elections.

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