The key word here is democratic. Promoting democratic reform has been a cornerstone of Canada’s relations with Ukraine. This was most prominently manifested by the sending of 500 government-sponsored election observers (in addition to the 500 Ukrainian Canadian community ones) by the Liberal government in 2004 and the 270 government-sponsored observers sent by the Conservative government in 2010. And let’s not forget that it was a Progressive Conservative government that so quickly recognized Ukraine’s independence in 1991.
Thus, support for Ukraine and support for the development of democracy in Ukraine has always been a policy endorsed by all parties in Canada. This is reflected in the multi-partisan composition of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group. Therefore, when Ukraine’s democracy is being systematically eroded, it is imperative for all parties in Canada and the Government especially, to take a resolute stand against any such slide back into authoritarianism and dictatorship.
No one is denying that Viktor Yanukovych was democratically elected — albeit with the weakest mandate of any Ukrainian president including the lowest plurality and with the distinction of being the only president who failed to win a majority in either round. But then Adolph Hitler too was democratically elected chancellor of Germany in 1933. He then proceeded to dismantle the Constitution of the Weimar Republic just as Yanukovych is now dismantling the Constitution of democratic Ukraine.
Since coming to power Yanukovych has:
• Created an unconstitutional government by bribing opposition members to defect, instead of calling new parliamentary elections as he was bound to do under law;
• Undermined the independence of the judiciary by pressuring and/or bribing judges to endorse his unconstitutional government;
• Got parliament to unconstitutionally ratify an unconstitutional lease extension for a foreign power to maintain a naval base on Ukrainian soil;
• Bullied parliament to ram through a budget in 10 minutes without allowing the opposition any time to study the document;
• Reinstituted censorship in the media; and
• Begun using law enforcement agencies to repress the opposition.
In theory, the people of Ukraine can reverse this trend in two years by electing a new parliament. But, in practice, can we reasonably expect any more free elections under this regime?
Yanukovych has gotten away with this erosion of democratic rights in Ukraine because the West has turned a blind eye to his unconstitutional actions. But he is conscious of world opinion and this is where Canada has an extremely important role to play.
Canada has to let Yanukovych know in no uncertain terms that his erosion of Ukraine’s fragile democracy will not be tolerated. Canada also has to take the lead in urging other Western democracies to take a similar resolute stand.
Marco Levytsky is the editor and publisher of Ukrainian News, a bi-weekly newspaper distributed across Canada.
