Kateryna Bandura, New Pathway – Ukrainian News.
Three years ago, on October 19, 2015, people gathered at Plast Huculak Centre in Toronto to celebrate the election of Borys Wrzesnewskyj as Liberal MP in Etobicoke Centre. Exactly three years on, Wrzesnewskyj gathered a group of Ukrainian Canadian community leaders at the same location to announce that he will not be seeking re-election in the next federal election.
Wrzesnewskyj thanked his friends, supporters and his team for their “trust, aid and for allowing me to achieve so many things over the years in Ottawa and in this particular community, for our Canadian-Ukrainian community, [and] Canada-Ukraine relations. I look forward to spending more time with my wife and three small children.”
Wrzesnewskyj will remain the Etobicoke Centre MP until the next federal election in October 2019. He plans to continue promoting the creation of the Canadian Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security office. “This is to become an incubator for my dream of a future Canadian Department of Peace,” said Wrzesnewskyj. He informed that, this fall, a group of Ukrainian women underwent training in Canada and that they could become part of the peacekeeping group in Ukraine that will operate under the ‘Women, Peace and Security’ slogan. “There’s a culture of violence in the occupied territories, so specialized forces will be required [after de-occupation],” said Wrzesnewskyj. He hopes the government will “operationalize” the Ambassador position in the spring of 2019.
Another current focus is countering Russia’s meddling in elections in Canada and Ukraine. Ukraine, which is “the shield for the West from Russia”, and Canada, which “has taken a principled position against Russia”, are both targeted by Russia, he noted. Both countries are having elections next year and need to safeguard against Russian hybrid interference, said Wrzesnewskyj.
During his announcement, Wrzesnewskyj recalled that, after he was first elected MP in June 2004, he brought young people from the community into his bureau: “Yvan Baker excelled himself during my nomination process and then as an MP. I feel at peace now, having chosen the right moment to pass the torch from one generation to the next,” said Wrzesnewskyj.
He called on the community to support Baker’s nomination and then his candidacy as the MP for Etobicoke Centre in the 2019 federal elections.
Yvan Baker, in turn, announced that he plans to enter federal politics. “For the last four years, I have been focused on results for our Etobicoke Centre community, and this next step will allow me to continue this work,” said Baker. Baker also announced forthcoming meetings with the constituents to discuss their priorities, which include the economy, jobs, healthcare, and infrastructure development.
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