Permanent Synod Bishops Meet with Speaker of the Canadian Parliament
On February 27, 2025, during the meetings of the 11th (82 nd) session of the Permanent Synod of the UGCC—where working sessions are interwoven with international meetings to proclaim the truth about Russia’s war against Ukraine—members of the Permanent Synod, led by His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the UGCC, met with Greg Fergus, Speaker of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Canada.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav expressed gratitude for Canada’s support and solidarity with the suffering Ukrainian people, as well as for its acceptance of more than 300,000 Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian war. All of them were granted the right to stay in Canada for three years, but for many, this period is now coming to an end, leaving them uncertain about their future.
Greg Fergus assured His Beatitude Sviatoslav and the members of the Permanent Synod that Canada has always respected Ukrainians, recognizing their contributions to the country over the past 150 years, including in the highest levels of government. He affirmed that the issue of extending Ukrainians’ right to stay in Canada would be resolved positively.
He also reaffirmed Canada’s continued political, humanitarian, and military assistance to Ukraine for as long as needed. “We have a clear understanding of who the aggressor is and who the victim is in this war,” he stated. Fergus expressed admiration for the resilience of the Ukrainian people, emphasizing that freedom comes at a cost, and Ukrainians are paying a high price for it.
At the conclusion of the meeting, His Beatitude Sviatoslav presented Speaker Fergus with a fragment of an Iranian drone—used by Russia in nightly attacks on Ukraine’s capital—as a stark reminder of the deadly metal aimed at crushing Ukrainian hope. In addition, he gifted him a pysanka, a symbol of the Ukrainian people’s faith in the Resurrection, which makes them invincible.
