Ukrainian-Canadians in Ontario call on Ottawa to do more to help Ukraine fend off Russia
CBC
Members of Ontario's Ukrainian community say the Canadian government should do more to help Ukraine as Russia amasses troops near the border.
Ihor Michalchyshyn, executive director and CEO of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), said in Ottawa on Monday that the federal government should send defensive weapons to Ukraine and impose additional sanctions on Russia.
Canada needs to send a strong message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said.
"We've seen the United Kingdom, the United States, NATO allies, G7 allies, send defensive weapons to Ukraine that will help them defend themselves in the case of an invasion. And we think very strongly that Canada needs to join that list very quickly," he said.
Additional sanctions, the kind that are usually applied in an internationally coordinated way after an invasion, could be imposed on Russia before it makes any more moves, he said.
"Our perspective is, though, of course, to do these things now to dissuade Putin so that he knows the cost of an invasion is so high that he will back down and sends his troops back to barracks."
Russia has massed an estimated 100,000 troops near Ukraine's border, demanding that NATO promise it will not allow Ukraine to join the organization.
Outside of Ukraine and Russia, Canada has the world's largest Ukrainian population. About 1.3 million inhabitants identified as Ukrainian-Canadians in the 2016 census. Michalchyshyn said the community is extremely worried.
"People are concerned about their friends and family, most immediately. They are stressed about reading the news," he said.
"Every day, it seems there is further Russian escalation in terms of more troops or more rhetoric. They are waiting for the government of Canada to make a decision on sending further assistance and taking actions," he said.
Michalchyshyn noted, however, that Ukrainians are very resilient. He said they have lived with war in eastern Ukraine for the past eight years, a conflict that followed the Russian invasion and occupation of Crimea in 2014, and most know a soldier who has been wounded or killed in that armed conflict.
"It is a live war. People are dying every day," he said.
To protest against the occupation of Crimea, Canada has slapped sanctions on Russian individuals and entities, according to the federal government's website.
The UCC launched a campaign on the weekend called "#StandwithUkraine" that encourages Canadians to show their support for the country.
P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch is looking for 50 substitute bus drivers, and it'll be recruiting at three job fairs on Saturday, June 8. The job fairs are located at the Atlantic Superstore in Montague, Royalty Crossing in Charlottetown, and the bus parking lot of Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside. All three run from 9 a.m. until noon. Dave Gillis, the director of transportation and risk management for the Public Schools Branch, said the number of substitute drivers they're hiring isn't unusual. "We are always looking for more. Our drivers tend to have an older demographic," he said.