As the federal election approaches, Ukrainian News has decided to post a short list of candidates who are most likely to provide the best representation for our community. This is a short list consisting of those who have either distinguished themselves within the community itself by taking pro-active stands, or have done so as sitting members of parliament. The critical words here are distinguished and pro-active. And the list is not comprehensive because it only refers to those about who we have the most available information. Some may be excluded because we do not have enough available information to make a recommendation. And simply being of Ukrainian origin does not automatically mean that we are endorsing a candidate as "most likely to provide the best representation for our community". Certainly we encourage members of our community, and candidates of Ukrainian origin to stand for election. And if you have a candidate of Ukrainian origin in your riding, then vote for him or her. This also applies to candidates who have good ties with our community. But there have been cases where MPs of non-Ukrainian origin have taken a much more pro-active role in defense of the community's interests than have MPs that actually are of Ukrainian origin. That's why these individuals are being singled out. In this issue we focus on three such candidates in Ontario - two of whom are running for the first time, and one who is a sitting member of parliament. Next week (in our special election issue, which will be coming out earlier than our normal schedule) we will focus on Western Canada.

The three individuals from Ontario we believe will provide the best representation for our community are (from East to West) as follows:

Jurij Klufas (Conservative, Parkdale High Park): Certainly Jurij has a very extensive record of service to the Ukrainian community. He is an active member of Plast and is the founder and president of the Bloor West Village Ukrainian Festival - an event which now attracts an astounding 125,000 people. This in itself is a major accomplishment.

But what really sets Jurij apart is his work as the founder and executive producer of the Ukrainian television program "Kontakt". "Kontakt" has not been afraid to tackle those issues that are important to us as Canadians of Ukrainian origin - issues such as Denaturalization and Deportation (D & D), Internment and Redress, Immigration, Multiculturalism, Relations with Ukraine and others. We often have tape recordings of press conferences held in Toronto sent to us, and it is always Jurij who is most likely to pose the most incisive questions to federal and other government representatives.

If he has taken such a pro-active role as a television journalist, then it can be assumed that he will do the same as a member of parliament. That is why Jurij Klufas classifies as one of those "most likely to provide the best representation for our community".

Borys Wrzesnewskyj (Liberal, Etobicoke Centre): Voters in Etobicoke Centre are in a win-win situation. Regardless of whether the Liberal or Conservative candidate is elected (unlike largely working-class Etobicoke Lakeshore where the NDP has considerable support, Etobicoke Centre is a relatively affluent riding and the contests there have historically tended to be Liberal-Conservative affairs) our community can expect to have a good representative. Conservative Lida Preyma has a very good record of community involvement and her victory would be a positive development.

But what sets Borys apart is, again, the pro-active work he has done to date. Borys was not afraid to take a public stand on major issues of importance to our community, even when such a public stand was not the most politically correct thing for a Liberal to do (i.e. D & D). But then he went even further. He organized the Ukrainian Canadian Liberal Committee precisely for the purpose of addressing those issues of specific importance to us within the Liberal Party. He brought the current Prime Minister into a Ukrainian venue during the election campaign specifically to address these issues. And when the Liberal leadership convention came about, he organized a group of youthful delegates to buttonhole delegates to the convention and make them address specific issue of importance to our community

Again, if that's what he has done prior to this election, then it is quite safe to assume he will do the same if elected to parliament. That's what sets him apart.

(It should be noted that if both Klufas and Wrzesnewskyj are elected, we will have two very strong representatives on both sides of the House, regardless of who forms the government.)

Andrew Telegdi (Liberal, Kitchener-Waterloo): No member of parliament in any party has done more to raise the public consciousness about the gross injustice of the D & D process than Andrew Telegdi. He was not afraid to speak out publicly even though he was hauled on the carpet by then Prime Minister Jean Chretien for doing so. He resigned a position as Parliamentary Secretary (and the extra salary and perks that came with it) to then Citizenship and Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan precisely because of his opposition to this process. He then spearheaded a major campaign to get the grassroots of the Liberal Party itself to reject this process as undemocratic. This was accomplished when delegates to the provincial wing conventions of the Liberal Party in the four largest provinces in Canada, representing 85% of the population, voted overwhelmingly for and gave a very high priority to, a policy resolution calling for an end to the current system of revocation of citizenship.

When Wasyl Odynsky's citizenship was to be decided in cabinet, it was Telegdi who led the battle against revocation in the Liberal caucus that day and it was largely due to his efforts that the revocation was put on hold.

Now that the Federal Court of Appeal has dealt what may be the death blow to this policy, it is good to remember that it was Andrew Telegdi who led a lonely fight against this process for many years. But if the current process is dropped due to the court decision, it may still be used in future cases unless the Citizenship Act itself is changed. Andrew is now leading that battle.

Andrew Telegdi has shown he is not afraid to buck the party leadership when it comes to civil liberties, and that's what distinguishes him as "most likely to provide the best representation for our community".