Toronto bids good-bye to Ukraine's Consul-General Lossovskyi (09/10/06)

Toronto bids good-bye to Ukraine's Consul-General Lossovskyi

by Oksana Zakydalsky

TORONTO - After a four-year posting to Toronto as consul-general of Ukraine, Dr. Ihor Lossovskyi is leaving Canada for some new, as yet unknown, diplomatic assignment.

On July 26 the Ukrainian Canadian Congress organized a farewell evening for the consul-general that attracted representatives from all Ukrainian organizations, as well as a large public. Dr. Lossovskyi was well-known and popular in the Ukrainian community.

As a parting gift from the community, Dr. Lossovskyi was presented with a painting by Halyna Nowakiwska titled "Winter in Toronto."

Dr. Lossovskyi was born in Kyiv in 1957. His father worked as a geologist with the Academy of Sciences and, from the age of 3, the future diplomat accompanied his father on geological expeditions all over the USSR. This led him to study geology. He completed his degree at Kyiv University and graduate studies at the Institute of Geophysics of the National Academy of Sciences. When the opportunity arose for people who did not have the necessary preparation to enter the diplomatic service in 1993 Dr. Lossovskyi went to work for Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

At the MFA he worked mostly on issues related to the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe, European integration and NATO, and his first foreign posting was as the OSCE Mission member in Croatia. In 1999 he became the head of the OSCE and Council of Europe Division at the MFA, a position he held until his assignment to Canada.

The Canadian posting, in August 2003, Dr. Lossovskyi said, was unexpected, as he had worked mostly with European structures. At the time, the head position at the troubled Consulate-General in Toronto had been vacant for a year while previous lengths of stay of consuls-general had averaged one or two years. Some of Dr. Lossovsky's friends were skeptical of his chances to serve out the full term of his appointment.

The Consulate has five to six people on staff, out of which three are diplomats, as well as a trade commissioner from the Ukrainian office in Ottawa. A consulate has three main responsibilities: the protection of persons from Ukraine (both personal and corporate), the promotion of Ukraine's image in Canada, and the advancement of trade and economic relations. The Toronto office is the only consulate outside Ottawa and is responsible for the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northern Territories.

Asked if the fact that Toronto has a large Ukrainian diaspora had helped or hindered him in his primary responsibilities, Dr Lossovskyi replied that, in essence, it was a positive factor as it could assist in making economic contacts. He gave the example of Italian immigrants and Italian-Canadian businesses in Canada that helped in the development of the Italian economy after World War II.

Did the attitude of Canadians towards Ukraine change during his stay? "During the Orange Revolution people learned about Ukraine and developed a positive attitude to Ukraine. As well, the attitude of both Canadians and Ukrainians toward state officials has improved since the Orange Revolution. The Orange Revolution was very important to the development of Ukraine. It showed that people are the source of power. I was able to feel that here - and I believe I made a small contribution to the Orange Revolution," he answered.

Dr. Lossovskyi was one of the first Ukrainian diplomats to come out publicly in support of the Orange Reveolution. "At the same time," he added, "it heightened expectations that things in Ukraine will be OK." During the Orange Revolution, the media - both press and TV - were at the Consulate constantly, wanting interviews and asking for information. Afterwards it became easier to work with Canadian organizations, government and especially the media. But, he added, "maybe we did not take full advantage of this."

He said he believes that Ukraine could help the diaspora more - for example, with books and teachers for Ukrainian language schools. He thinks that Ukraine needs a Ukrainian Cultural Center (on the model of the British Council or the Goethe Institute) in Canada and said that this is being planned in Kyiv.

What does he consider some of his accomplishments as consul-general? "I am happy about being able to develop regional projects such as [those between] Alberta and the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. I was one of the initiators of the revival of the Kyiv-Toronto cooperation - the mayor of Toronto went to Kyiv and was able to meet with President Yushchenko. A pairing of Odesa-Vancouver has now begun - both are port cities and have many possible areas of cooperation," Dr. Lossovskyi answered.

"But some of the things I would like to see happen are quite complex and require the cooperation of hundreds of people; for example, cooperation in the energy field (oil and gas). Such global projects require more time, whereas my time here was limited," he said.

As the political situation in Ukraine is currently somewhat unpredictable, the consul-general was asked what he tells the news media about what is going on in Ukraine. "I stress that although previously we knew exactly what kind of decisions would be made, today, under a democratic government, there are many unknowns. That's the way things have changed in Ukraine, although this also means instability. But we do have a president elected by the people," he answered.

Dr. Lossovskyi's recall comes at the end of the normal period of four years of diplomatic service. He said he expects to remain in the diplomatic corps and, "of course, no sergeant will ever say that he does not want to be a general," he commented. He pointed out that a consul is appointed by the minister of foreign affairs but an ambassador by the president.

Dr. Lossovskyi ended his conversation with this correspondent by saying: "I want to thank the Ukrainian community in Toronto and Canada for the four years of support I received in my work and for its moral support. I am very grateful for all the friends I have made."

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