State Dinner Hosted by His Excellency Viktor Yushchenko,
President of Ukraine, and Mrs. Kateryna Yushchenko

Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, April 23, 2009

My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond, the members of the Canadian delegation accompanying us and I are delighted that this State visit has brought us to Ukraine and that we are able to share this evening with you to celebrate the unbreakable friendship between our two countries.

We had the pleasure of welcoming you to Canada less than one year ago, Excellency and Mrs. Yushchenko, and we have fond memories of the dinner at Rideau Hall, where poetry, music and conversation set the tone for a night of celebration.

That evening, we were reminded of just how deep and how precious the relationship uniting our peoples truly is.

One of the “most important attribute[s] of a nation,” as you once said, Excellency, is “its memory.”

In Canada, we are proud to be home to the largest Ukrainian population in the world outside of Ukraine and Russia.

And I am deeply moved to be able to highlight in this place so rich in history, across from Saint Sophia Cathedral, and in one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe—a city twinned with our own Toronto—the vital role that our fellow citizens of Ukrainian heritage have played and continue to play in building Canada and in defending the values of justice, equality and fairness that are so dear to us all.

The ties that Ukrainian Canadians have maintained with their homeland or with that of their parents and ancestors have reached across Canada, and our country is delighted by the renaissance of Ukraine as a “modern European nation,” as you described it, Excellency, as a proud and free nation that respects human dignity.

The history of your country reminds us, in the words of poet Taras Shevchenko, that like the Ukrainian spirit, freedom shall “never wholly vanquished lie.”

On December 2, 1991, Canada became the first Western country to recognize Ukraine’s independence.

We commend your determination to overcome the forces of repression and to adopt the democratic values and principles of a country based on the rule of law.

Canada has made a commitment to support your efforts in this regard in such critical areas as commerce, technical co-operation, defence and mutual legal assistance.

Moreover, the Canadian International Development Agency’s program in Ukraine is the largest in Eastern Europe and focuses primarily on good governance, the development of democratic institutions and the strengthening of civil society.

And we fully support Ukraine’s aspirations to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Mutual assistance and dialogue are where the future lies in a world grappling with the fallout from a serious financial crisis and facing such urgent issues as security and preserving the environment, which require a global approach and a rekindled show of solidarity.

Withdrawal, isolation, closing oneself off to others—these are the dangers that threaten us in these uncertain times when, let us not pretend otherwise, the values of openness and compassion are being seriously undermined.

We know how difficult recent history has been for Ukraine, from the dark years of Soviet repression, to the victims of the Holodomor who suffered under a “brutal despotism,” in the words of Canada’s prime minister, to the tragedy in Chernobyl that shocked the world and triggered an outpouring of sympathy in Canada.

We need to recognize these pages of history, particularly when such painful memories remain, and draw from them lessons of hope.

Lessons for us all, Ukrainians and Canadians alike, who want nothing more than a world in which, in the beautiful words of poet Ivan Franko, “[translation] the entire history of our civilization” would be “nothing more than a gradual, systematic and continuous pushing back of the limits of what is possible.”

I know that times are tough and that it can be very tempting to just give up.

But we must never give up, dear friends.

Never has it been more important that we hold fast to hope.

I have come here to tell you that the world needs your tenacity, your courage and your willingness to believe, whatever the cost, in a better and more just world.

It is in this spirit of sharing that we will be meeting with your fellow citizens, Excellency.

Over the next few days, we will be meeting with representatives from the political and academic spheres, from civil society and the business world.

We will also be going to Lviv, a city to which, I am told, a great number of Ukrainian Canadians can trace their roots, and that is twinned with the city of Winnipeg.

We are anxious to begin what we hope will be a productive dialogue on civic engagement with youth and with non-governmental organizations that help children with special needs and that promote the role of women in society.

Let me share something with you, Excellency: many of us already feel as though we are among family, because the ties that bind our countries are so strong and warm.

And when we return to Canada, we intend to share with all Canadians everything that we will have seen, heard and witnessed here in Ukraine.

Above all, Excellency, we will tell them about the spirit of initiative and the strength of character of the women, men and youth of Ukraine, which we can already feel so strongly and which can never be defeated. How fortunate for us all!

On behalf of the Canadian delegation, my husband and myself, thank you very much, Excellency, for welcoming us so warmly and for hosting this magnificent dinner in honour of our visit.

Thank you so much. And now, I would like to raise my glass to our shared desire to rekindle the flame of hope and light in a world at times darkened by the greed of some and the indifference of others.

Long live the friendship between Canada and Ukraine!