UCC Ontario Council elects new executive, seeks to revive activities and raise profile (07/11/99)

UCC Ontario Council elects new executive, seeks to revive activities and raise profile

by Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj
Toronto Press Bureau

TORONTO - After a hiatus of four years, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Ontario Provincial Council held a general meeting on June 26 at the Ukrainian Canadian Social Services building in this city's west end and elected a new executive.

The 12-member council, consisting of the presidents or representatives of the 11 branches in the province and a representative from the Women's Provincial UCC, were elected for a two-year term.

Volodymyr (Walter) Halchuk of Sudbury was elected president, Petro Mycak of Windsor became first vice-president, Toronto's Maria Szkambara will serve as second vice-president, while Yurij Loza (a recent immigrant from Ukraine) of Oshawa is secretary and Ihor Chorneyko of Hamilton is treasurer.

Members of the Auditing Committee are Ted Woloshyn (Toronto), Roman Hnatychak (Hamilton) and Mykola Kocijowsky (St. Catharines).

Dr. Evhen Roslyckyj of London will remain on the board as past president.

Evhen Czolij, president of UCC National, attended the meetings and delivered the keynote address. The Montreal-based lawyer took the opportunity to announce that the umbrella body's Ottawa office would be reopened in the fall of this year.

The new president

The new UCC provincial council president has served as president the UCC's Sudbury branch since 1997.

In a press release issued on June 30, Mr. Halchuk was quoted as saying that the focus of his administration will be on communication and Canadian issues. The new UCC Ontario president said he will press the provincial government to establish an Ontario Genocide Memorial Day that will speak to tolerance and conflict resolution for all Ontarians.

Mr. Halchuk is well positioned to facilitate communication among Ukrainians in the province, as he has been serving as an unofficial distributor of news concerning Ukrainians via e-mail in recent years.

On July 3 Mr. Halchuk appeared on the Toronto-based MEEST Radio Station, informing Ukrainians recently arrived in Canada of the UCC's role and its openness to all.

"We are positioning ourselves for participation and feedback from all Ukrainians, whether fifth-generation or fifth-hour in Canada," Mr. Halchuk told The Weekly in a recent interview.

He said he attended the recent convention of the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Federation, held in Toronto on July 1-4, "to let it be known that the UCC is once again alive and ready to do business in Ontario."

Mr. Halchuk said he is working to set up a "meet and greet meeting" of the UCC's local branch presidents with newly re-elected Ontario Premier Mike Harris and has met newly appointed Minister of Mines and Northern Affairs Tim Hudak.

According to the June 30 release, Mr. Halchuk is "a businessman and owner of AITEC Lighting Ltd. and its division, Contact Ukraine, and is familiar with community service from a young age."

A member of the Ukrainian National Federation, Mr. Halchuk has served as president of its Sudbury Branch and a member of the UNF Presidium (national board of directors).

As president of the Sudbury Folk Arts Council, Mr. Halchuk co-founded the Sudbury Regional Multicultural Center in 1974. He is a member of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association (UCCLA) and sits on UCC National's Justice Committee on Denaturalization and Deportation.

Mr. Halchuk currently sits on the City of Sudbury's Citizens Advisory Committee on the naming of public places and the erection of monuments. He coordinated the establishment of the Sudbury and District CARP Chapter and is North Central co-representative to the Ontario Association of Older Adult Centers.

He is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

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