My parents were Ukrainian refugees who landed in England. Then I met a Canadian whose parents were also Ukrainian refugees. Which brought me to Toronto.
In those early days, Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union. Never thought I would live to see, and visit, a free Ukraine.
None of my family remain in Ukraine. They were either killed, or deported to gulags, after WWII.
But I do have friends over there. Including a fellow boy scout who met a young Ukrainian lady, and stayed in western Ukraine. You can see the scouts (young), and with my motorcycle (more recent), here.
Really sad to see Russia waging war to crush Ukraine, a democratic nation that has only had 30yrs of freedom. And for eight of those years Ukraine has been fighting Russia in a proxy war in the Eastern Provinces after Crimea was invaded.
Please add your name to online petitions, that each of the major parties have initiated in the House of Commons.
In a logical world, they would have created one joint petition. But, each party has their own.
PLEASE sign all four. It’s a simple process, especially if you do all four in sequence.
Liberal Party – https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3904
Conservative Party – https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3917
Bloc Québécois – https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3926
New Democratic Party – https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3915
Once you complete one petition, you will receive an email with a link. You click on that link, and your entry is confirmed in that petition. You can then go and complete the next petition.
These petitions will close for signature between 2022Apr06, and 2022Apr10
The reason for these petitions is the continual bombing and shelling of civilian areas such as Mariupol, where schools, hospitals, as well as homes, are being targeted. You will have seen the impact each day on TV.
These petitions urge Canada to provide air-support, something that NATO has done before. Air-support will help relieve some of suffering from this war, that started in 2014, and as of February this year, has become much worse.
Our own retired-Major-General Hillier suggested that NATO start with air-support as a way to provide humanitarian corridors. The corridor to Mariupol being promised many times, but never happening.
Ukraine has supported NATO operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, as well as NATO’s counter-piracy operation called Ocean Shield.
Air-support can be provided in a variety of ways. Drones and missiles are the obvious ways. Canada is providing anti-aircraft missiles, and supporting equipment for drones. Ukraiina still needs air-support to shoot down the Russian cruise missiles, and artillery, both being used to destroy civilian targets as we have seen in Mariupol and other places.
Please pass this onto other citizens of Canada, to sign.