New Pathway.
On May 19, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau joined over twenty Liberal Members of Parliament and the Ukrainian community in celebrating Vyshyvanka Day. In a traditional Ukrainian style, the Prime Minister welcomed 35 Ukrainian students, who are completing an internship in the House of Commons with the Canada Ukraine Parliamentary Program.
According to MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj, on the same day, two Cabinet Ministers, Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr and Minister of Small Business and Tourism Bardish Chagger, became the first Canadian MPs to answer questions during the Question Period while wearing vyshyvanky. Following Question Period, Liberal Cabinet Ministers Freeland, Goodale, Hehr and Mihychuk gathered with fourteen Liberal MPs (Boissonnault, Bratina, Duguid, Dzerowicz, Fonseca, Jones, Lamoureux, Maloney, Miller, Peterson, Rusnak, Spengemann, Wrzesnewskyj, Young) for a Vyshyvanka group photograph. As this assemblage of Liberal MPs waited for the arrival of Vyshyvanka-clad Prime Minister Trudeau, the Ukrainian Canadian MPs broke out into song with a rendition of “Vziav By Ja Banduru.”
Borys Wrzesnewskyj says that the impromptu performance became a major news item in Ukraine. As a result, Wrzesnewskyj, the Chair of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group (CUPFG) issued a public challenge on behalf of the CUPFG to Members of Ukrainian Parliament. In a letter addressed to the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Wrzesnewskyj’s challenged the Ukrainian MPs to don their vyshyvanky and sing an impromptu verse of Stompin’ Tom’s “The Hockey Song.”
There were also celebrations of Vyshyvanka Day in Winnipeg. The Oseredok Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre together with “Myloserdia” Humanitarian Association of Ukrainian Volunteers also hosted a Vyshyvanka Walk from City Hall to Oseredok, followed by a Juried Competition.
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