Kelowna council shows support for Ukraine
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Kelowna City Council rejected the idea of a sister city, but did approve a $15,000 donation from its contingency fund to the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal fund.
It’s the latest in a number of recent decisions by council to show support to the people of Ukraine since an invasion of the country by Russian forces began on Feb. 24.
“Our citizens continue to illustrate an outpouring of support for Ukraine clearly illustrating we are an extremely caring city,” said Mayor Colin Basran. “Our donation is a signal of our appreciation for everything that our citizens and senior levels of government are doing to support Ukraine.”
A request to set up a new sister city relationship with a community in Ukraine was not supported, as it wasn’t considered the most appropriate way for the city to show its support for the entire country of Ukraine, and the proposal did not align with the its Sister City Policy.
“We are pleased with council’s continued support for our efforts to support the people of Ukraine,” said Peter Bihun, President of the Dolyna Ukrainian Cultural Society in Kelowna. “The donation to the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal fund is very important and we urge Kelowna residents to join in our efforts to help Ukraine.”
Council also supported an additional $5,000 to offset some of the costs incurred by the Dolyna Ukrainian Cultural Society and Kelowna Stands with Ukraine to raise awareness regarding humanitarian relief efforts for Ukraine.
Denys Storozhuk, with the group Kelowna Stands with Ukraine, also welcomed the support.
“The finances will help our group with the costs for an event to raise awareness and funds for Ukraine,” said Storozhuk. “We are very grateful for the city’s support.”
“We will continue to find other ways to demonstrate our support for Ukraine during this dark time,” said Mayor Basran. “And we encourage our city’s citizens to join us in doing whatever we can to show financial, political and moral support to the people of Ukraine.”