Ambassodor Ostash Takes Film on Train of Ukrainian Pioneers Across Canada

By Oksana Hoba

Ottawa - Ihor Ostash, former Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada arrived in Canada on May 14^th, 2012 to present the film “Ukrainian Canadians: A Success Story”.  The screening and presentation of the film took place in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Edmonton, as these are all cities of large Ukrainian settlement.

The film tells the saga about how the first Ukrainians arrived by boat on Canadian soil and their travels from Halifax to Edmonton.  The Historical Train of Ukrainian Pioneers was part of earlier celebrations last summer to mark the 120^th Anniversary of Ukrainian Settlement in Canada.  The train departed Halifax on June 24 and arrived in Edmonton July 7, 2011 and included “stops” along the way in several cities – Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Saskatoon - where there is a significant Ukrainian community.  In the film, Ihor Ostash takes the historic train ride and is the narrator throughout this voyage and enthusiastically talks about all of his new experiences in discovering the first Ukrainian churches and museums in Canada.  The film has been created by Ihor Ostash and script-writer Yuri Stadnychenko.

Dr. Ostash and his entourage started his story at Pier 21 in Halifax, now Canadian Museum of Immigration, where the first immigrants arrived and then he depicts the life and hardships of early pioneers.  Dr. Ostash is quick to indicate that Ukrainians in Ukraine have little or no knowledge about what happened to these early settlers in Canada.  As Ukrainians in Ukraine received gift packages regularly from relatives in Canada, it was assumed that all of the settlers had done well and were living a better life in Canada.  The film was made to show Ukrainians in Ukraine what happened to the Ukrainians in Canada.  Thus the movie is mostly in the Ukrainian language and English is only used when interviewing government officials and dignitaries.

In Ottawa, the film presentation took place on May 17 at Saint Paul University under the auspices of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress – Ottawa Branch. Wholeheartedly welcoming Dr. Ostash were people from the Ukrainian Embassy, the Ukrainian Canadian community in Ottawa, and Reverend Fathers. Also present was MP Ted Opitz, who indicated that he thoroughly enjoyed the screening and understood most of what was being said in Ukrainian. He went on to say that this was the story of immigration of many other ethnic groups such as the Lithuanians, Icelanders and the Poles.

The film screening itself was about an hour in length followed by discussion during a question & answer period. Questions asked were mostly about where and to whom the film would be shown in Ukraine. Dr. Ostash answered that the purpose of the film was to educate Ukrainians in Ukraine about the vibrant and politically active community in Canada.

Dr. Ostash assured the audience that he will do his best to advertise and continue promotion of Ukrainian Canadian culture abroad, as he thinks of Ukrainian Canadians as his second family.

After an emotional question-answer period, Dr. Ostash gave out awards to outstanding individuals in the Ottawa community who are continuously involved in a variety of projects.  Orest Dubas was one such person who was responsible for the project to erect artist-sculptor Leo Mol’s Taras Shevchenko Monument and its unveiling in the Nation’s Capital on June 26, 2011.

After the film screening and presentation, guests were invited for coffee when they had the opportunity to chat informally with Dr. Ostash, purchase a copy of “Ukrainian Canadians: A Success Story” on DVD format for friends, and were able to discuss the film’s content amongst each other.

PHOTO

Ihor Ostash, Ukrainian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary