Ukrainian group says including Russia at Heritage days would send 'a disturbing message'
Members of the Ukrainian community are asking that Russia be excluded from the 2023 Edmonton Heritage Festival.
Friday, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Alberta Provincial Council (UCC-APC) said in a press release that it's concerned about the inclusion of Russia while the county is engaged in "flagrant violations of international law."
"Allowing the Russian community to partake in the festival without acknowledging the atrocities committed by their government is a disservice to the victims of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and sends a disturbing message that the festival supports or condones such actions," the release read.
Orysia Boychuk, UCC-APC president, said the Ukraine pavilion has approached the Edmonton Heritage Festival Association twice since March about the Russia pavilion's participation.
"They have indicated that no final decision has been made, and that it will occur [in the] middle of June," she added. "So we're extremely concerned about this whole situation."
Boychuk said excluding Russia this year would be in line with the decision by the International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festival and Folks Art to suspend the memberships of Russia and Belarus.
"It's really hard to understand where they're coming from and why they would be willing to support the pavilion this year," Boychuk said. "It really would violate the values and the principals of the Edmonton Heritage Festival."
Organizers of the Russia pavilion decided not to attend the 2022 festival in-person, but the country did participate virtually and said at the time it hoped to return in 2023.
Boychuk said that decision was dignified and showed respect, and the Ukrainian community understands not all people with Russian heritage support the war.
"They have come forward and they have expressed that, and they have attended our rallies," she added. "And we appreciate that."
However, given Russia's violations of international law and amid accusations of war crimes in Ukraine, Boychuk said it's not an appropriate time to celebrate the country.
"I think there are ways that the Russian community can participate and that is to show their solidarity," she said. "But to showcase their culture and be proud of their culture at this particular time, it makes it very challenging for our community."
On Monday, Edmonton Heritage Festival Association said the board is meeting with key stakeholders to discuss the matter, and a decision will be announced "within the next few weeks."
"We respectfully acknowledge the real concerns expressed by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Alberta Provincial Council," the board wrote in a statement. "We are committed to ensuring a safe festival environment for our pavilions, staff and volunteers, and the public."
The Russian Heritage Cultural Development Association said an application has been submitted to participate in the festival but the group did not want to comment at this stage.
"We’d be happy to discuss our participation later, once we finalize everything on our end," a representative told CTV News Edmonton on Monday.
The Edmonton Heritage Festival will run Aug. 5 to 7 at the Edmonton Exhibition Lands.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Dave Mitchell
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.