Russian pavilion to be excluded from 2023 Edmonton Heritage Festival because of safety concerns: board

The Russian pavilion will not be part of the 2023 Edmonton Heritage Festival, the Edmonton Heritage Festival Association (EHFA) board announced on Friday.

The board says the decision was made due to safety concerns as a result of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and will be reviewed on an annual basis going forward.

"Following a long consultative process that culminated in a meeting with both pavilions together in the same meeting space last week, it became very clear to the EHFA that it was not possible for the two pavilions to come up with a solution together despite best efforts," the EHFA board wrote in a news release.

"As much as we do our best to stay out of the politics that are reflected in the countries that represent the cultures that make up our festival, conflicts do exist and can escalate to the point where they cannot be ignored."

The board said several threats had been made demanding the exclusion of the Russian pavilion, but did not disclose the source of the threats.

"The EHFA consulted with the Edmonton Police Service, and they advised that due to the threats, increased security would be necessary if the decision was to have the Russian pavilion participate in the festival."

EPS released a written statement in response to the EHFA news release, stating that EPS plays a part in all major festivals in Edmonton.

"As with many festivals and events of this magnitude, the EPS works closely with organizers to ensure public safety for all attendees based on parameters that are defined by the event organizers," spokesperson Carolin Maran wrote. "The preparation of an operational plan is a standard part of this process and includes an assessment of any anticipated event risks. Police resources are then adjusted accordingly as the event takes place."

The EHFA board noted it had also received several public requests from both Ukrainian groups and individuals to exclude Russia from the festival as well.

"The safety and well-being of our staff, volunteers and attendees is of utmost importance and therefore our EHFA Board made the decision it did."

The Russian pavilion made the decision not to participate in the festival last year, but there were still incidents related to the conflict at the festival, the board said.

"While these incidents did not pose a safety threat, they did highlight the potential for safety risks if the Russian pavilion had participated last year," the board said.

The Friends of the Ukrainian Heritage Pavilion Society say the decision not to include Russia in the festival is the right one.

"We feel it's the right decision considering that the war is going on and every day, probably as we speak, innocent children and civilians are dying in Ukraine," Natalia Pociurko told CTV News Edmonton on Friday.

"Providing the stage to celebrate this culture as the war is going on, and considering all the crimes that have been committed, it's not the right thing."

Pociurko said it's too early to say if the Ukrainian community will feel differently once the war ends.

"We're going to cross that bridge when we get there," she said.

In an interview with CTV News Edmonton earlier this week, the Ukrainian ambassador to Canada shared similar sentiments to Pociurko's.

"We think that there shouldn't be any Russian culture promotion here because this is the culture that brought up the generation of people who turned out to be invaders, looters, killers, rapers," Yuliya Kovaliv said. "That’s unfortunately what we as Ukrainians feel, and the whole world sees that suffering." 

In a statement on Friday, the Russian Heritage Cultural Development Association (RHCDA) said it was dissapointed that safety concerns were cited as cause to exlude the Russia Pavillion.

"It is very likely that the organizers of the festival depend on the City of Edmonton support when it comes to safety. It is embarrassing that the city is not able to guarantee safety at a public event, and that the only solution to the problem is to exclude a group of Canadians based on their [ethnic] background," the group wrote. "Ironically, this is happening at an event that is meant to celebrate diversity and inclusiveness in our society."

The RHCDA said it respecfully acknowledged the concerns brought forth and attempted to work with "organizations involved with the festival."

"We have shared ideas on how to create a respectful environment at the festival, but no one was interested in any mutually beneficial solutions," the RHCDA said in the statement. "Instead, the decision was made to exclude our pavilion from the festival."

"We truly believed that the phrase "promoting inclusion and limiting discrimination" copied from the festival website means something," the statement went on to say. "Now we feel that it does not."