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Canada Standard
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Canada Standard
Cancellations at Canadian film festivals raise questions about accountability
Film festivals are unique cultural institutions, spaces to see diverse films by local and global filmmakers and an important market for distributors. These films are often difficult to see, or even know about, outside of festival circuits. Festivals are also answerable to funders and to different stakeholders' interests. Cancellations of planned films raise questions about festivals' roles and accountability to community groups who find certain films objectionable, the wider public, politicians, festival sponsors, audiences, filmmakers and the films themselves. In September 2024, The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) faced a backlash from pro-Ukrainian groups - and former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, who is of Ukrainian descent - when the documentary Russians at War was included in the program. Read more: 'Russians at War' documentary: From the Crimean to the Iraq War, soldier images pose questions about propaganda The Ukrainian Canadian Congress and other advocates called on TIFF to cancel the film, directed by Russian Canadian Anastasia Trofimova, which they accused of being Russian propaganda. TIFF did cancel festival screenings after it was "made aware of significant threats to festival operations and public safety," but once the festival was over, showed Russians at the TIFF Lightbox Theatre. In November, the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) cancelled the Canadian premiere of Rule of Stone , directed by Israeli Canadian director Danae Elon. As a film and media professor, I supervised Elon's research for the film while she pursued a master's degree at Queen's University. RIDM acknowledged Elon's "personal commitment to criticizing and questioning the state of Israel" through her story about the stone that, by Israeli law, has to be used on the exterior of every new building in Jerusalem. In the film, Elon examines how, in post-1967 Jerusalem, "architecture and stone are the main weapons in a silent, but extraordinarily effective colonization and dispossession process" of Palestinians. As a documentarist and a researcher in Israeli and Palestinian media representations of fighters, I have analyzed both films and followed the controversies. Each focuses on contemporary political issues relevant to our understanding of current affairs. While the reasons for the cancellations are different, in both cases the festivals responded to pressures from community groups, placing the public right to a robust debate at the festival and beyond as secondary. Director Anastasia Trifamova embedded herself in a Russian supply unit, and later a medical team, eventually making her way to the front lines in occupied Ukraine. Trifamova comes across as a naive filmmaker, using an observational, non-judgmental form of filmmaking common in 21st-century war documentaries, as seen in films like Armadillo and Restrepo (respectively following Danish and U.S. troops in Afghanistan). As noted by TIFF, Russians was "an official Canada-France co-production with funding from several Canadian agencies," and Trifamova said she did not seek or receive official permission from the Russian army to film. The film documents the machination of war, where soldiers are both perpetrators of violence and its victims. It humanizes the soldiers, which understandably can be upsetting to Ukrainian and pro-Ukrainian publics. But should emotions of one group, outraged and incensed as they may be, prevent the public from having the difficult conversations promoted by the film? Early in the film, Trifamova confronts the soldiers about why they are fighting and they respond with Russian propaganda (fighting Nazism, defending the borders). Later, soldiers approach Trifamova - on camera - to express doubts about the justification of the war and their presence in Ukraine. The film provides an unflattering view of Russia's attack on Ukraine, emphasizing the futility of the war and the incredible toll on soldiers and civilians (including some Ukrainian civilians). Russian troops appear untrained and poorly equipped to fight in chaotically managed battles. Like Armadillo and Restrepo , Russians at War represents the soldiers without judgment and contributes to necessary conversations about war. In my analysis, while Trifamova refrains - in her sporadic voice-over - from condemning the war outright, it is difficult to read the film as Russian propaganda. While TIFF cited security concerns as the reason for cancellation, security was in place for another film that attracted controversy, Bliss . A cancellation from such an established festival likely has an effect on how a film is able to circulate. For example, TVO, one of the funders of Russians at War , cancelled its scheduled broadcast days after the TIFF cancellation. Rule of Stone , as noted by RDIM, "critically examines the colonialist project of East Jerusalem following its conquest by Israeli forces in 1967." The title references a colonial bylaw to clad building with stone, first introduced by the British, which still exists today. The film, which examines architecture's role in creating modern Jerusalem, is led by Elon's voice-over. It mixes her memories of growing up in 1970s Jerusalem and her reckoning with the "frenzy of building," which included projects by architect Moshe Safdie, a citizen of Israel, Canada and the United States. Elon recounts that her father, journalist and author Amos Elon, was a close friend of Safdie, as well as legendary Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kolek. Safdie is among the Israeli architects, architectural historians and planners who Elon interviews. The expansion of Jewish neighbourhoods is contrasted with the restrictions on and disposession of Palestinians in Jerusalem. Multiple scenes show the demolition of Palestinian homes or the aftermath. In intervwoven segments, Izzat Ziadah, a Palestinian stonemason who lives in a stone quarry, gives a tour of what is left of his destroyed home. Viewers hear how the planning, expansion and building of Jewish neighbourhoods, post-1967, were designed to evoke biblical times. As architectural historian Zvi Efrat notes, the new neighbourhoods look like, or attempt to look like, they were there forever. As reported by La Presse , the RIDM cancellation came after the festival received information about the documentary's partial Israeli financing, something that "embarrassed" them with some of the festival's partners. Funding for the development of the film came from the Makor Foundation for Israeli Films, which receives support from Israel's Ministry of Culture and Sport. Two organizations, the Palestinian Film Institute and Regards Palestiniens, opposed the film's showing on the basis of their commitment to the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). In the organizations' logic, Israel state funding means a film should be subject to boycott as "PACBI specifically targets Israeli institutional funding in the arts which serves to culturally whitewash and legitimize the Israeli state." In my view, this position differs from the PACBI guidelines, which state: "As a general overriding rule, Israeli cultural institutions, unless proven otherwise, are complicit in maintaining the Israeli occupation and denial of basic Palestinian rights, whether through their silence or actual involvement in justifying, whitewashing or otherwise deliberately diverting attention from Israel's violations of international law and human rights." Makor should be exempted since it regularly funds films that draw attention to Israel's violations of Palestinian human rights. In 2024 alone, the list includes The Governor , The Village League and Death in Um al hiran . RIDM's website does not disclose support for a boycott. In the end, RIDM announced that Elon withdrew her film. She stated: "Screening my film at RIDM does not serve the long-term purpose of the festival, nor is it possible now to address the nuances in our common fight for justice for Palestine. I am deeply saddened and distressed by [what] has brought it to this point." To date, the film has not found a cinema in Montreal willing to screen it. The two festivals' mission statements promise high-quality films that transform or renew audiences' relationships to the world. It is clear why programmers chose both films, since they're cinematically innovative and provoke important conversations. However, both festivals silenced these films and signalled to other filmmakers that these festivals are not brave spaces to have difficult and necessary conversations.
Canada News.Net
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Canada News.Net
Cancellations at Canadian film festivals raise questions about accountability
Film festivals are unique cultural institutions, spaces to see diverse films by local and global filmmakers and an important market for distributors. These films are often difficult to see, or even know about, outside of festival circuits. Festivals are also answerable to funders and to different stakeholders' interests. Cancellations of planned films raise questions about festivals' roles and accountability to community groups who find certain films objectionable, the wider public, politicians, festival sponsors, audiences, filmmakers and the films themselves. In September 2024, The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) faced a backlash from pro-Ukrainian groups - and former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, who is of Ukrainian descent - when the documentary Russians at War was included in the program. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress and other advocates called on TIFF to cancel the film, directed by Russian Canadian Anastasia Trofimova, which they accused of being Russian propaganda. TIFF did cancel festival screenings after it was "made aware of significant threats to festival operations and public safety," but once the festival was over, showed Russians at the TIFF Lightbox Theatre. In November, the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) cancelled the Canadian premiere of Rule of Stone, directed by Israeli Canadian director Danae Elon. As a film and media professor, I supervised Elon's research for the film while she pursued a master's degree at Queen's University. RIDM acknowledged Elon's "personal commitment to criticizing and questioning the state of Israel" through her story about the stone that, by Israeli law, has to be used on the exterior of every new building in Jerusalem. In the film, Elon examines how, in post-1967 Jerusalem, " architecture and stone are the main weapons in a silent, but extraordinarily effective colonization and dispossession process" of Palestinians. As a documentarist and a researcher in Israeli and Palestinian media representations of fighters, I have analyzed both films and followed the controversies. Each focuses on contemporary political issues relevant to our understanding of current affairs. While the reasons for the cancellations are different, in both cases the festivals responded to pressures from community groups, placing the public right to a robust debate at the festival and beyond as secondary. Director Anastasia Trifamova embedded herself in a Russian supply unit, and later a medical team, eventually making her way to the front lines in occupied Ukraine. Trifamova comes across as a naive filmmaker, using an observational, non-judgmental form of filmmaking common in 21st-century war documentaries, as seen in films like Armadillo and Restrepo (respectively following Danish and U.S. troops in Afghanistan). As noted by TIFF, Russians was " an official Canada-France co-production with funding from several Canadian agencies," and Trifamova said she did not seek or receive official permission from the Russian army to film. The film documents the machination of war, where soldiers are both perpetrators of violence and its victims. It humanizes the soldiers, which understandably can be upsetting to Ukrainian and pro-Ukrainian publics. But should emotions of one group, outraged and incensed as they may be, prevent the public from having the difficult conversations promoted by the film? Early in the film, Trifamova confronts the soldiers about why they are fighting and they respond with Russian propaganda (fighting Nazism, defending the borders). Later, soldiers approach Trifamova - on camera - to express doubts about the justification of the war and their presence in Ukraine. The film provides an unflattering view of Russia's attack on Ukraine, emphasizing the futility of the war and the incredible toll on soldiers and civilians (including some Ukrainian civilians). Russian troops appear untrained and poorly equipped to fight in chaotically managed battles. Like Armadillo and Restrepo, Russians at War represents the soldiers without judgment and contributes to necessary conversations about war. In my analysis, while Trifamova refrains - in her sporadic voice-over - from condemning the war outright, it is difficult to read the film as Russian propaganda. While TIFF cited security concerns as the reason for cancellation, security was in place for another film that attracted controversy, Bliss. A cancellation from such an established festival likely has an effect on how a film is able to circulate. For example, TVO, one of the funders of Russians at War, cancelled its scheduled broadcast days after the TIFF cancellation. Rule of Stone, as noted by RDIM, " critically examines the colonialist project of East Jerusalem following its conquest by Israeli forces in 1967." The title references a colonial bylaw to clad building with stone, first introduced by the British, which still exists today. The film, which examines architecture's role in creating modern Jerusalem, is led by Elon's voice-over. It mixes her memories of growing up in 1970s Jerusalem and her reckoning with the "frenzy of building," which included projects by architect Moshe Safdie, a citizen of Israel, Canada and the United States. Elon recounts that her father, journalist and author Amos Elon, was a close friend of Safdie, as well as legendary Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kolek. Safdie is among the Israeli architects, architectural historians and planners who Elon interviews. The expansion of Jewish neighbourhoods is contrasted with the restrictions on and disposession of Palestinians in Jerusalem. Multiple scenes show the demolition of Palestinian homes or the aftermath. In intervwoven segments, Izzat Ziadah, a Palestinian stonemason who lives in a stone quarry, gives a tour of what is left of his destroyed home. Viewers hear how the planning, expansion and building of Jewish neighbourhoods, post-1967, were designed to evoke biblical times. As architectural historian Zvi Efrat notes, the new neighbourhoods look like, or attempt to look like, they were there forever. As reported by La Presse, the RIDM cancellation came after the festival received information about the documentary's partial Israeli financing, something that "embarrassed" them with some of the festival's partners. Funding for the development of the film came from the Makor Foundation for Israeli Films, which receives support from Israel's Ministry of Culture and Sport. Two organizations, the Palestinian Film Institute and Regards Palestiniens, opposed the film's showing on the basis of their commitment to the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). In the organizations' logic, Israel state funding means a film should be subject to boycott as " PACBI specifically targets Israeli institutional funding in the arts which serves to culturally whitewash and legitimize the Israeli state." In my view, this position differs from the PACBI guidelines, which state: "As a general overriding rule, Israeli cultural institutions, unless proven otherwise, are complicit in maintaining the Israeli occupation and denial of basic Palestinian rights, whether through their silence or actual involvement in justifying, whitewashing or otherwise deliberately diverting attention from Israel's violations of international law and human rights." Makor should be exempted since it regularly funds films that draw attention to Israel's violations of Palestinian human rights. In 2024 alone, the list includes The Governor, The Village League and Death in Um al hiran. RIDM's website does not disclose support for a boycott. In the end, RIDM announced that Elon withdrew her film. She stated: "Screening my film at RIDM does not serve the long-term purpose of the festival, nor is it possible now to address the nuances in our common fight for justice for Palestine. I am deeply saddened and distressed by [what] has brought it to this point." To date, the film has not found a cinema in Montreal willing to screen it. The two festivals' mission statements promise high-quality films that transform or renew audiences' relationships to the world. It is clear why programmers chose both films, since they're cinematically innovative and provoke important conversations. However, both festivals silenced these films and signalled to other filmmakers that these festivals are not brave spaces to have difficult and necessary conversations.
Edmonton Journal
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Edmonton Heritage Festival back with 68 pavilions and questions about inclusion
Article content In previous years, the festival made headlines after it blocked the return of the Russian pavilion. Though the official reason cited was 'security concerns,' the move followed a public demand from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) that Russian participation be suspended due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Article content Critics called the move a troubling precedent – one that punished local volunteers for the actions of a government thousands of kilometres away. Festival insiders at the time told Postmedia the decision stemmed from rising tensions and an inability to find a compromise that satisfied both groups. Article content The issue was further complicated by calls for the Russian group to denounce the war or stop selling politically themed merchandise – conditions it ultimately refused. The group has since said it will not reapply to participate, citing frustration and a lack of support. Article content Article content The UCC in Edmonton says efforts to separate cultural expression from global conflict must also consider the lived experiences of diaspora communities, particularly when those communities feel directly threatened by geopolitical aggression. Article content 'Yes, we would (still oppose a Russian pavilion),' Dmytro Petrushchajk, president of UCC in Edmonton, told Postmedia. Article content 'Given the ongoing war and Russia's continued attempts to erase Ukrainian identity and culture, we believe it would be morally inappropriate to host a pavilion promoting Russian culture at this time. Cultural celebrations should not whitewash or ignore the aggressive actions of a state actively engaged in cultural and physical destruction.' Article content Petrushchajk said the absence of a Russian pavilion in recent years may mark the beginning of an important precedent — one that the multicultural community should reflect on with both moral clarity and cultural sensitivity. Article content Article content The Russian group did not apply for 2025, Rohatyn confirmed. Article content Russian Heritage Cultural Development Association did not respond to Postmedia's email by the time of publication. Article content Tensions lessen in 2025 Article content While festival organizers hoped last year's controversy was a one-time storm, new political flare-ups have put that optimism to the test. Article content The Palestinian and Israel pavilions are both returning this year, with both communities emphasizing cultural pride over politics, even amid war. Article content 'Yes, we absolutely are (returning), and it's very important to us,' said Randa Alhijawi, president of the Canada Palestine Cultural Association. 'We see the festival as a way to connect with our community and show support to our Palestinian community. It's an expression of how we honour the resilience of our community in this festival.' Article content Alhijawi described last year's experience as 'really, really sad and bittersweet,' noting that many in the Edmonton Palestinian community lost loved ones in Gaza. Article content 'I have a dancer in the dance group who will be performing – she lost her complete family… grandparents, cousins, everybody she knows is gone.' Article content Still, she said the pavilion will focus on culture and community. Article content 'We are celebrating our culture, regardless of who's participating in the festival… We are definitely part of this. We want to make sure that everybody enjoys the festival and comes to visit us.' Article content The Jewish Federation of Edmonton also confirmed its participation. Article content 'We have not missed a year since we started over 25 years ago,' said CEO Stacey Leavitt-Wright. 'We always look forward to this as an opportunity to engage people to people, Edmontonians to Edmontonians, about Israel, and to share love for the country. And we're looking forward to it.' Article content Asked about safety, she noted, 'Unfortunately, for Jewish Canadians across the country, security is an essential and integrated part of absolutely everything we do as a community, and that has not changed… This is not the place to engage in those kinds of conversations, that's not what this festival is about.' Article content Article content 'There should be no place for antisemitism at this festival. There should be no place for that in Alberta,' Leavitt-Wright added. Article content A test for multiculturalism Article content At its best, the Heritage Festival is a joyful, chaotic, delicious collision of traditions, where visitors can sample Egyptian falafel, watch Ukrainian dancers, and leave with a Peruvian bag stuffed with Trinidadian spices. And organizers say they want to keep it that way. Article content But critics argue that avoiding political realities entirely may no longer be possible, especially when diaspora communities are directly affected by wars, protests, and displacement. Article content 'This is a challenging question,' said Dr. Sandeep Agrawal, associate dean and professor at the University of Alberta. 'Events like the Edmonton Heritage Festival highlight the vibrant multicultural fabric of Edmonton and, more broadly, of Canada. In today's climate of global tensions, ongoing conflicts… it is difficult for cultural festivals to remain entirely apolitical.' Article content Article content 'Canada is one of the most multicultural countries in the world, with nearly one-quarter of its population being foreign-born. Many members of these diasporic communities carry emotional ties and geopolitical concerns from their countries of origin. As a result, diaspora tensions have become more visible and, at times, more complex,' he added. 'Navigating diaspora tensions requires careful planning, open dialogue, and a commitment to ensuring that such events remain spaces for unity and celebration, rather than division.' Article content For their part, festival organizers say they're trying to do just that. Article content 'We focus our attention on culture,' Rohatyn said. 'It can be difficult, given the events of the world… but that is what our festival is all about – bringing people together and celebrating multiculturalism.'
CTV News
03-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Ukrainian man with cerebral palsy walking from Calgary to Banff to raise money for hospitals
Oleksandr Kyianytsia is draped in a Ukrainian flag as he walks along the Bow River pathway in Calgary on his way to Banff to raise money for hospitals in Ukraine. Oleksandr Kyianytsia, born with cerebral palsy, lives in Montreal but is originally from Ukraine. He's set off on a journey called Gift of Walking with a goal of raising money for Ukrainian hospitals impacted by the war with Russia. He leaves Calgary on July 3 and will pass through Cochrane, Bragg Creek and Canmore on his way to the mountain resort town of Banff. 'It will be very challenging, but I am very happy to do it because it was my dream to go through the Rockies,' said Kyianytsia. 'I began to think, 'How can I help?' and I had this idea to do a walk to help (raise money for) Ukraine to buy medical equipment.' This is Kyianytsia's third walk for Ukrainian hospitals. In 2023, he completed walks from Montreal to Ottawa and Toronto to Niagara Falls, totalling more than 330 kilometres and raising $32,000. This latest journey will take him close to 20 days and 200 kilometres and he'd like to raise $20,000. 'He will change five or six pairs of shoes because he's dragging his foot, and then the shoes get damaged and tear,' said Roman Yosyfiv, Calgary president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. 'So we bought him a couple shoes and then he's going to change them all the time because this is how difficult this is for him.' Before the walk began, the community held a rally at Municipal Plaza, where Mayor Jyoti Gondek signed a pair for Kyianytsia. 'I think this hospital, when he was back in Ukraine, this hospital helped him a little bit, and now he wants to give something back,' said Yosyfiv. 'They're fighting for independence, just to be Ukraine, and Ukraine compared to Russia is a small country, and without our support, I don't know where it's going to end up.' This campaign is supported by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Calgary Branch, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Bow Valley Branch and the Ukrainian Association in Cochrane. Anna Tselukhina is on the organizing committee for Gift of Walking and says more than 30 people have signed up to help Kyianytsia on his journey. 'Officially, I am co-ordinator of volunteers who will be feeding and taking care of (him) during his walk,' she said. 'Maybe walking with him during the different parts. 'It's three different teams that joined together to make this event happen.' Tselukhina says Kyianytsia isn't very good at walking with his cerebral palsy and falls regularly. 'That is what he told us: 'I'm falling down, but I stand up and I keep walking' because he has such a great heart for Ukraine,' she said. 'This is the example of a Ukrainian who doesn't want to give up no matter what's happened, no matter what kind of obstacles he has. I think this is a great example to all of us (and) we should learn from him.' You can learn more about the walk by clicking here.
CTV News
20-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
‘We're here for him': Ukrainian Canadian Congress meets with President Zelenskyy
President of the Alberta Provincial Council of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Orysia Boychuk speaks with Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins about their recent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Michael Higgins: You were part of a separate meeting with President Zelenskyy Tuesday. Was that just a quick meet and greet? What did the opportunity accomplish? Orysia Boychuk: We're very grateful to have had this extraordinary opportunity to meet with him. It was a very quick meeting. It was initially scheduled to be a little bit longer, up to an hour. Unfortunately we had 15 minutes. But so grateful to have had that opportunity. It was a very emotional, very humbling experience to meet the president after and following the G7 meeting in Kananaskis. It was an honour to be there and represent our community. There were 16 representatives across Canada that had the opportunity to gather and meet with him. We were initially meeting downtown Calgary, and then in the end, it was at the airport where we had some time to talk to him and thank him for his courageous and extraordinary leadership, defending democracy, civil society and national identity that was key for us to really appreciate him and show him that we were still supporting him. We're here for him, wanted him to know. We can only imagine how difficult and how stressful the circumstances are for him. MH: On that very point about both the stress you mentioned emotions a moment ago, we understand that as President Zelenskyy was flying to Alberta, news was being relayed to him about another massive Russian attack. Many dead, many more injured. How did you get a sense for how heavily that was weighing on his mind at the time? OB: It was huge for him. It was huge for us. It was it was a bittersweet meeting. We were gathering and unfortunately, as the day unfolded, there were bombings in Kyiv. Fifteen casualties from the bombing. There were over 100 people that were injured and they were ordinary civilians in downtown Kyiv that were impacted, so it definitely was bittersweet. Canada was unrolling its additional supports, the G7 was coming to an end, and unfortunately there was that layer of attack, of Russian brutality, in continuous invasion on Ukraine. So it was very hard for all of us. MH: I want to ask what you're able to contribute to that conversation. From an Alberta perspective, how familiar is the President with our province as being a home to not only Ukrainians displaced by the war but so many who are of Ukrainian descent. OB: He's very familiar with us. When he was in parliament about a year ago, he did address Alberta, he addressed Edmonton, that Edmonton had established the first Holodomor, the genocide famine monument at City Hall, and he said that he would be back to Edmonton one day to visit. So he's very familiar. He knows that we are here. He knows that there's a large community and that there's a lot of work being done. He thanked us for our ongoing work and our support for the displaced Ukrainians and all the work Canada is doing, Alberta is doing, and all the support in Edmonton and Calgary. He was very grateful and very supportive of us, and it was a mutual exchange of reinvigorating that hope for each other, that we continue to support Ukraine, and that we're here. He was acknowledging and supporting us and the work that we were doing. So it was revitalizing, given the circumstances and the complexities of the day. MH: I want to quickly ask as well about that huge welcome billboard for President Zelenskyy, the one outside Calgary airport. What prompted that? Do you know if he saw it? OB: Yes. Our community really wanted to show a warm welcome to President Zelenskyy. We were speaking with the embassy, communicating and providing a lot of different options of how we could present this warm welcome to the president. Obviously there are restrictions. It was very high-level security. There were a lot of things going on and a lot of leaders coming in, and so we were pretty limited. Our Calgary Congress was amazing. They designed, overnight, this billboard and together the congresses across Alberta had financially chipped in to finance it and put it up. That was the minimum that we felt we could do to welcome and show our support to President Zelenskyy and to show the world that we're welcoming him, and we're grateful. We're grateful for Canada for inviting President Zelenskyy because if Canada didn't invite him, that's a sign of further support that Canada stands with Ukraine. This was another piece showing to the world that Canada stands with Ukraine, Alberta stands with Ukraine. MH: As you look back now on President Zelenskyy's involvement in the G7 summit itself, even the fact that he was not able to meet with the U.S. president, who left early, would you consider the visit a success? OB: One-hundred per cent. The fact that he was invited, that he participated, that Canada gave support. He went home and he received additional support, and the support that he received was more than he received in the past. We're grateful to Canada, we're very hopeful for Ukraine and we're only wishing for peace. We're sending our deepest condolences to those who've lost their lives just as recently as yesterday and the day before and in the past. So we're hopeful for peace very soon indeed.
