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Tuesday March 21, 2000
Dear Friends,
This will be a sad letter. First of all, on behalf of all our members and friends, I wish to extend our condolences to the family of Honourable Michael Starr (Starchewsky) MP, Oshawa, Minister of Labour in the Conservative government of John Diefenbaker. Mr. Starr passed away last week. Vichnaya Pamyat.
Mr. Starr is credited with several milestones in Canadian politics. One of the most far-reaching contributions of this Progressive Conservative Ukrainian to Canada was the expansion of Unemployment Insurance. The other, was the political influence on the generation of younger politicians of Ukrainian descent who followed him into the party and into politics. Among the most notable were The Rt. Honourable Ramon Hnatyshyn, Minister of several portfolios including Justice, later to become then the Governor General of Canada; and Don Mazenkowski, Deputy Prime Minister. UCPBF is proud to underscore that Mr. Hnatyshyn is our Honorary President.
The second sad item is the death of 80 miners in Donetsk, Ukraine. We are deeply troubled by the tragedy; our hearts go out to the families. Nechay spochyvaut na viky. Suspilna Sluzhba, the Ukrainian Canadian Social Services of Canada is collecting funds for the families. We support the initiative. Tax deductible contributions may be sent to UCSS Inc. 2445 Bloor St.W, Toronto , ON M6S IP7. Please indicate that you are a UCPBF donor. Our Maritime VP, Olya Williams is investigating assistance and support via the Canadian Coal Miners associations.
Regrettably, it is the tragedy of Ukrainian miners in Canada as well. A list of perished miners in Kirkland Lake is full of Ukrainian and other Slavic names. This, too, is our contribution to Canada. John Chilibeck, our Director of Communications, wrote a feature story on the Nova Scotia Hillcrest coal mine disaster of 1958: many were Ukrainians. It was to have appeared in our Newsletter. Regrettably, he cut it to ensure other coverage. It will appear at a later date and on our website.
Ending on a more cheerful note, our Newsletter is out as part of the Ukrainian News. A big thank-you to our Editor, John Chilibeck. We would like to know your reaction.
With warm regards,
Oksana Bashuk Hepburn
President
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