Member of the Order of Canada

• Awarded on: May 6, 2010
• Invested on: November 17, 2010

Irene Sushko has devoted her life to promoting diversity and human rights. As a former national president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, she worked unstintingly to preserve Ukrainian culture and heritage in Canada. She is the founding chair of Hamilton's Holodomor Museum, which is dedicated to preserving the memory of the 1932-1933 Ukrainian famine. She has also actively supported Ukraine's transition to democracy, notably its electoral reform and its fight against human trafficking. Also a community activist, she has worked towards the betterment of the Hamilton region, and the improvement of intercultural communication in the area.