Justin Trudeau visits Ukrainian community hub to express support

New Pathway – Ukrainian News.

The atmosphere in the church hall of St. Demetrius the Great Martyr Ukrainian Catholic Church in Etobicoke, ON was tense on the afternoon of Friday, March 4. It was nine days since the beginning of Russia’s massive “special military operation” in Ukraine which has become the largest war in Europe since WW2. On that afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the Ukrainian Canadian community hub to express his support for Ukraine and the community.

Before the meeting, two main issues were the focus of discussion in the hall, a no-fly zone over Ukraine and further provisions of military equipment to the embattled country. Presented by MP for Etobicoke Centre Yvan Baker, Justin Trudeau gave a short speech and then went through the hall chatted to the community members.

Justin Trudeau chats with the community members (MP Yvan Baker (Etobicoke Centre) and MP Arif Virani (Parkdale – High Park) on the background) Photo: NP-UN

Below is Justin Trudeau’s speech, edited for clarity.

I can’t imagine what you and the entire community are going through right now. A mix of emotions, obviously a deep sense of sadness, that this has come to this, rage that this is happening. Mixed into perhaps a little bit of pride that the entire world gets to see just how strong and courageous and resilient Ukrainians are, but such a deep sorrow that it had to come to this.
What is happening is an incredible tragedy for the Ukrainian community, tragedy for Ukrainians all around the world but also a tragedy for the world. It was very much something that we didn't want to see happen. Something that the world has been warned about since Crimea. After that, Canada stepped up with Operation UNIFIER to help train up the Ukrainian military which is right now fighting like lions. We can give thanks to the Canadian Armed Forces who were there to help give them the tools to show the world what they are made of.
The Ukrainian Canadian diaspora over the years has been connecting and building such deep ties between Canada and Ukraine, whether it's Canada Ukraine Free Trade Agreement, whether it's increasing economic or cultural partnerships. It’s the work we're doing together to build a better democracy, a better country, a better path forward in Ukraine. And the success of Ukraine over the past years, building this extraordinary country. That is a direct threat to Vladimir Putin’s view of authoritarian Russian governance.
And we've come to a moment that, quite frankly, we've seen coming over the past years, we've talked about it in the news, not just about Ukraine. But about democracies around the world. We see a bit of a slippage in our democracies. Countries turning towards slightly more authoritarian leaders, countries allowing increasing misinformation and disinformation to be shared on social media turning people against the values and principles of democracies that are so strong. And that slippage over the years unfortunately emboldened Putin and made him think he can get away with it in Ukraine.
And what a terrible mistake he made in underestimating Ukrainians, in underestimating the level to which democracies withstand and do what he never expected us to, which is push back hard. But I will tell you, it wasn't automatic. There were a lot of places around the world that said ‘Oh, it would be a real shame if Putin were to invade Ukraine’. But in the back of their mind, they were thinking ‘Well, Putin did that in Crimea, they kicked him out of the G8. But other than that, there wasn't a really strong push back’. And there were people wondering if this would be the same: ‘Maybe he'll just take the Donbas, maybe even Ukraine but then things will calm down’.
And the thing that convinced the world more than just about anything was all of you, was Ukrainians themselves, standing with such strength and such courage in the face of this overwhelming adversary, inspiring us all and reminding us all that this is not just a fight for Ukraine. It is a fight for integrity, the sovereignty and the capacity of people everywhere to pick the path they want for their future.
It is Ukraine’s misfortune that Vladimir Putin chose Ukraine to start this, but it is the world's good fortune that Ukrainians are courageously standing up against him reminding us what we all need to do.
So, Canada stands with Ukraine, the world stands with Ukraine. Because this is the moment to show that we are willing to fight for the values and the principles we believe in with the best tools at our disposal. The rapid collapse of the Russian economy, the united condemnation and pushback from countries around the world and the support for Ukraine will continue as long as it takes.

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