Moved third reading of Bill S-276, An Act respecting Ukrainian Heritage Month.

He said: Honourable senators, you may be getting sick of hearing from me, but I promise this is the last one for today.

I rise to speak at third reading for Bill S-276, An Act respecting Ukrainian Heritage Month, which aims to designate the month of September as Ukrainian Heritage Month in Canada to celebrate from coast to coast to coast the contributions Ukrainian Canadians have made and will continue to make to our country.

I begin my remarks today by sincerely thanking our colleague Senator Donna Dasko for aptly presenting this bill at committee when I was absent due to illness. I greatly appreciate her support, as a fellow Canadian senator of Ukrainian heritage, in this and other endeavours to support Ukraine. I also thank the chair, Senator Omidvar, and members of the Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology for studying this bill. I enjoyed listening to your deliberations and discussions online on the importance of culture and heritage in our democracy.

Colleagues, all the threads that we bring to this country we weave together to create the tapestry we call Canada. Whence we came is integral to all of us individually and as a society. Our heritage is what we have inherited from the past, those things that we value and enjoy in the present and that which we strive to preserve and pass on to future generations.

Heritage is a mixture of things. It is something we use to understand and respect ourselves, to share that with others and to help us better understand each other. In short, our heritage is a celebration of who we are and aspire to be and is part of the glue that binds us to each other.

I am championing this bill to honour my Ukrainian heritage, with the support and encouragement of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, the Ukrainian diaspora and recently arrived Ukrainians seeking refuge here.

During my second reading speech, I spoke about the experiences of my parents, grandparents and extended family, of their journey and contributions to Canada. They came from Ukraine, having lost all their property, many of their friends and most members of their own families to Russian and Nazi murderers. They sought refuge in Canada following World War II so that they could live in peace and without fear.

They became part of a much larger Ukrainian diaspora that traces its roots to the Eastern European farmers who came to Canada between 1891 and 1902 to open up Western agriculture. They not only helped build Canada into a global agricultural powerhouse, but they preserved their Ukrainian culture when the Russian occupation of Ukraine sought to destroy it.

We see Russia again destroying Ukrainian culture by spreading propaganda, stealing children, killing innocents and destroying iconic cultural sites. The Ukrainian people are fighting back and holding strong to their identity. In one small way, this bill emphasizes their heritage of resilience in Canada and the world.

I have family in Ukraine, and every morning I check to see if they have survived another night. Many Canadians share this experience and are shouldering this burden.

Colleagues, sometimes it might seem to us like no one is paying attention to what we say in this chamber. However, last evening, I was reminded that sometimes they do. Following my statement on Russia’s war in Ukraine, I received a note from my cousin who lives in Kyiv. She had seen a clip of that statement. Her words touched me greatly. She wrote about how tired and exhausted the family and their friends were. She expressed that Ukrainians are feeling abandoned by the West. She also noted that they are heartened by moments of support and solidarity.

In her words, “But Ukraine doesn’t stop our fight.”

I hope the passage of this bill will help a bit by giving them and all those who have Ukrainian roots a much-needed emotional boost, helping them carry on.

Russia’s genocidal war against Ukraine has reminded us of the historic tragedies that we hoped were long past but that are now re-emerging. This invasion not only threatens to destroy Ukraine but is also an attack on the shared values that bind us together — values such as human rights, democracy and the international rule of law. They are values upon which our multicultural Canada is built.

In its own little way, this bill helps reaffirm those values.

You may ask why September and not another month. September is a notable month for Canadians of Ukrainian heritage because it was in September, over 125 years ago, when the first Ukrainian immigrants arrived in Canada. Ivan Pylypiw and Vasyl Eleniak arrived on September 7, 1891. This day is marked in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario as Ukrainian Heritage Day. Marking the month of September nationally would include these days while concurrently allowing for celebrations to occur from coast to coast to coast at times that would better serve the needs of various communities.

This year, I have had the privilege to attend many Ukrainian cultural events across the country. It was a highlight for me to be the parade marshal of the Bloor West Village Toronto Ukrainian Festival in September, the largest such festival in North America. It is a weekend of cultural celebrations, and I got to share that with Senators Omidvar, Dasko and Yussuff.

It was a celebration of hope in the face of darker realities. With dancing, mood, music, food and other art forms, we could take a moment to find joy in community and look to brighter days to come.

Also in September, I was privileged to give remarks at the Ukrainian Festival in Halifax. It was only the third year of its existence, and there were wall-to-wall people — people from all over the world, people celebrating Ukrainian heritage and talking about their own heritage, people becoming more comfortable with each other, enjoying all those things that we bring to our common experience of what it means to be Canadian.

Also earlier this year, I had the privilege to participate in the Ukrainian concert series “Unbroken Ukraine,” a celebration of heritage and resilience, a bittersweet evocation of strength in the face of attack and of resolve to fight on to victory. That event was in Summerside, P.E.I., and they played to a packed house.

This bill is timely not only because it can help uplift the spirits of Ukrainian Canadians in this time of the dog days of war, but also because it seems that Ukrainians in Canada are starting to stand up and say, “Here we are,” or as we say in Ukrainian, “My tut.” Come and learn about us. Come and celebrate with us. Come and stand together with us.

There are many Ukrainian Canadians of note, some of whom I spoke about in my second-reading speech. One I would like to revisit is the late senator Paul Yuzyk and his leadership in forming the Canada we know today. He has been called the “father of multiculturalism.” In his first speech in our chamber, he insisted that all ethnic groups deserved to be recognized as partners in the Canadian mosaic. He saw our multicultural reality as “unity in our diversity” and challenged us to embrace and celebrate that reality.

Senators, we all recognize the value of unity in our diversity. We all have marked days, weeks and months of significance to ourselves, our families and our neighbours. We have passed other such bills that recognize communities and events that helped shape the Canada we know today.

This bill extends our good work and recognizes the contributions of Canadians of Ukrainian heritage. We are living in a time that calls for more celebration of the things that weave us together in the face of the things that pull us apart.

Next September, I hope that we can all mark Ukrainian heritage month together, regardless of what our heritage is. I ask you to help see that dream become a reality by not delaying this bill in our chamber and voting to pass it at third reading and swiftly sending it to the other place.

D’akuju, thank you, wela’lioq.