4th Session, 42nd Legislature

This HTML version is provided for ease of use and is based on the bilingual version that was distributed in the Legislature after First Reading.

Bill 223

THE UKRAINIAN HERITAGE MONTH ACT

(Assented to                                         )

WHEREAS the first official Ukrainian immigrants, Vasyl Eleniak and Ivan Pylypiw, arrived in Canada on September 7, 1891;

AND WHEREAS soon afterwards, Ukrainian immigrants began arriving in Manitoba in larger numbers;

AND WHEREAS today Manitoba is home to more than 180,000 people of Ukrainian descent and there are more than 1.3 million Canadians of Ukrainian descent across the country;

AND WHEREAS many Ukrainians fled, and are once again being forced to flee, their homeland to find freedom from oppression and a better life in Canada;

AND WHEREAS both Manitoba and Canada, by way of The Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (Holodomor) Memorial Day Act (Manitoba) and the Ukrainian Famine and Genocide ("Holodomor") Memorial Day Act (Canada), have recognized the genocide by famine that occurred in Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 under the Soviet Communist regime of Joseph Stalin;

AND WHEREAS on August 24, 1991, the Ukrainian parliament declared Ukraine as an independent democratic state from the Soviet Union and Canada was the first nation in the Western world to recognize Ukraine's independence;

AND WHEREAS Manitobans of Ukrainian descent have left and continue to leave a historic mark on our province and their contributions span communities across Manitoba and are reflected in our economic, political, social and cultural life;

AND WHEREAS Ukrainian Canadians have played an important role in the development of Manitoba into one of the most desirable places in the world to live and have contributed to making Canada the great country that it is today;

AND WHEREAS 2022 is the 131st anniversary of the first official arrival of Ukrainians to Manitoba;

AND WHEREAS it is important to recognize and celebrate these contributions;

THEREFORE HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:

Ukrainian Heritage Month

1

The month of September in each year is to be known as Ukrainian Heritage Month.

C.C.S.M. reference

2

This Act may be referred to as chapter U9 of the Continuing Consolidation of the Statutes of Manitoba.

Coming into force

3

This Act comes into force on the day it receives royal assent.