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"I think it’s really neat that a fifth-generation Ukrainian Canadian can speak Ukrainian– but pay for it yourself," – Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney

March 25, 2009 Andrew 1 Comment

Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney is quite busy these days. When heâ€™s not barring British anti-war MPs from entering Canada, axing funding to Canadian-Arab groups, deporting war-resisters or even tweeting on Twitter, heâ€™s busy shaping our multiculturalism in a very diverse way: English or French speaking only! Our ministerâ€™s latest fight is to deny citizenship to immigrants who can’t speak English or French well enough. He believes new Canadians " have a duty to integrate." and adds "We don’t need the state to promote diversity. It is a natural part of our civil society." With that his government has ceased funding programs such as heritage language classes, and Kenney commented:

"I think it’s really neat that a fifth-generation Ukrainian Canadian can speak Ukrainian– but pay for it yourself," – Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney

Do the Conservatives believe Canada should be more of a U.S.-style melting pot rather than a multicultural society or should it just be a private affair? Perhaps immigrants and their cultures are being the scapegoat during our recession? Does this strategy even work? Add this to the list of crazy Conservatives moves this week.

news

Ukrainian news round-up – Sept 1, 2008

September 2, 2008 Andrew Leave a comment

I won’t be vacationing in Russia anytime soon – an anti-Kremlin blogger was taken into police custody and shot dead! His site responded with allegations that the Russian government was cracking down on Ingushetia, a small Muslim region trying to succeed from Russia. First regarded as ‘an accident’, now the official story is the website’s owner tried to wrestle a gun away (while in custody?) and then was shot in the temple.
Ukrainian heptathlete Lyudmila Blonska was given a lifetime ban on Friday after testing positive for an anabolic steroid at the Olympic Games – she was given the stiffest punishment because it was her second doping offence.
An ammunition depot near Lozovaya caught on fire causing 6500 people to be evacuated in the area, lighting up the sky. The explosions did not spread out past the base, despite the neighboring forest fire that caused the incident. Luckily no casualties were reported.
A Ukrainian minister warned that if the European Union did not flash positive signals on Ukraine’s membership soon, it would send a message to Russia that it could influence policy by military actions. President Yushchenko warns ‘any country could be next‘.
Meanwhile the EU has claimed it will give ‘support’ to Ukraine’s territorial inviolability and sovereignty, but have provided no real prospect for EU membership.
Dick Cheney is coming!
A Ukrainian window washer’s death in New York has re-sparked debate about the profession’s safety there.
Ukraine and Romania have taken their dispute over their maritime border to the World Court and the UN to divide an estimated 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas and oil reserves under the Black Sea.
Dima “DIMAGA” Filipchuk has gained in popularity, narrowly beating veteran Eugin “Strelok” Oparyshev in Kyiv at World Cyber Games Ukraine 2008.
The secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council was expelled from the opposition Party of Regions on Monday after disputing the party’s support for Russia’s recognition of Georgia’s rebel regions.

canada, holodomor, news

Holodomor left off of TDSB’s genocide curriculum

June 12, 2008 Andrew 1 Comment

From the Toronto Sun:

Leaders of an “insulted” Ukrainian community last night blasted the Toronto District School Board for approving a genocide class that doesn’t include the 1932-33 Holodomor in its list of three atrocities to be studied in-depth.

The TDSB last night unanimously approved the course design for the Grade 11 genocide class, which will focus mainly on three mass murders — the 1915 Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, and the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

But a board superintendent, Nadine Segal, said other genocides, including the current Darfur crisis as well as the Soviet-engineered Ukrainian Holodomor famine, will be touched upon in a broader, survey context. Students will have the opportunity to choose other genocides for independent study, Segal said.

From the Globe and Mail:

A group of Ukrainian-Canadians sat in the board meeting’s audience in support of an effort to have the Holodomor, the 1932-33 Ukrainian genocide, included as a core case study.

The board passed some minor amendments aimed at bolstering the profile of the Holodomor in the curriculum, including a mandatory statement that crimes against humanity not used as one of the three core case studies were not of lesser importance than those that were, and that other atrocities could be included as case studies.

While most of the media focused on the Armenian-Turkish battle over the course, it was refreshing to see some bring up the issue and keep the topic fresh in the media. The course unfortunately will not be reviewed for another three years.

Meanwhile in 2009 Alberta will start teaching the Holodomor and the internment of Ukrainians during WWI in its schools, the League of Ukrainian Canadians have had their Holodomor education plan posted for quite some time, and there are plenty more resources in the US.

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