Today, Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada Yuliya Kovaliv met with retired Lieutenant-General, former Senator, and legendary Canadian military leader Roméo Dallaire, as well as Marie-Claude Michaud, former Executive Director of the Military Family Resource Centre in Quebec.

General Dallaire is widely known in Canada and around the world as a principled advocate for human rights and a tireless promoter of veterans’ mental health. From 1993 to 1994, he served as Force Commander of the UN peacekeeping mission during the Rwandan genocide, and from 2005 to 2014, he represented Quebec in the Senate of Canada.

During the meeting, the parties discussed a new initiative to support Ukrainian veterans — a project that has already begun implementation in Ukraine with the support of Fairfax Financial Holdings and the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF).

The project’s first phase involves a sociological assessment of the needs of four target groups:
Veterans,
Family members of veterans,
Widows,
Amputees.

The survey officially launched in Ukraine last week.

In October 2024, General Dallaire and Ms. Michaud visited Ukraine at the invitation of the Global Initiative on Psychiatry and Fairfax. Their visit included meetings with government representatives, trips to frontline communities, and tours of rehabilitation centers — all aimed at gaining deeper insight into the challenges facing Ukrainian veterans and society during and after war.

The Embassy of Ukraine sincerely thanks General Dallaire and Ms. Michaud for their leadership, compassion, and meaningful commitment to supporting Ukrainian veterans and their families.