On Wed. Jan. 18, 2023, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs - Honourable Mélanie Joly with her guest, Rt. Honorable James Cleverly, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the U.K. visited our parish - St. Volodymyr Cathedral in Toronto. They were greeted by His Grace, Bishop Andriy, Frs. Buciora and Kobrii, Fr. Dcn Yastreb, F. Diakowsky - 1st vice president of the Parish Council, Y. Baker- MP, and CUC representatives. After lighting a candle and saying a quiet prayer for all those suffering in the illegal war in Ukraine, the dignitaries were invited to a small reception in the parish hall to meet with a few members of the community and newcomers to learn about what our parish is doing to help Ukrainian refugees here in Toronto and the GTA.

With Ukraine now so often at the centre of global talks about peace and security, this was an important visit for the ministers to get more insight into the reality of fleeing Ukrainians.

See tweets from both offices about the special visit.

Foreign Policy CAN on Twitter: "Yesterday, in Toronto, Minister Joly and UK Foreign Secretary @JamesCleverly engaged with community members at St. Volodymyr’s Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral providing support to Ukrainian newcomers who have resettled since the start of Russia’s illegal war. https://t.co/bIpb3qPlsE" / Twitter

James Cleverly🇬🇧 on Twitter: "🇬🇧 and 🇨🇦 are working in partnership to support Ukrainians all around the world. @MelanieJoly and I met members of the Ukrainian diaspora in Toronto to hear their stories. We won't stop until they can reclaim their homeland."