Chairman of the House of Commons of the Canadian Parliament Greg Fergus said , that considering the significant contribution of Ukrainian migrants to the development of Canada, all Canadians can be considered partly Ukrainian, Ukrinform reported, BTA reported.
Fergus said this in a speech at an event in Ottawa.
"Why do I think this is our struggle as Canadians? Because when we think about how much Ukrainians have contributed to building our country... Seeing the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine, I can't help but think of the white and red flag of Canada. Generations and generations of Ukrainians have come to build, farm and otherwise contribute to Canada. Then we have to think about what it means to be Canadian. And then we have to understand that it also means to be Ukrainian. Because of how much work, sweat and efforts have been put into building our country. It is an effort that we have all benefited from. At our core, we are all Ukrainians,”, said Fergus.
He stressed that Canadians should think of Ukraine as their own country. "None of us would stand idly by if our country was attacked by a hostile force that wants to relive some of the glory of the 19th century,”, noted the Speaker of the Canadian Parliament.
He added that Canadians are always looking ahead and planning for the future. "Let's think about what Ukraine will achieve after it is completely, integrally rebuilt after the end of this Russian aggression," Fergus noted. Ukrinform states that the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada is the largest in the Western world and numbers 1.3 million people.