Alberta
Canadian dairy plant becomes unlikely symbol of defiance for Ukrainian farmers
KRASNE, Ukraine — The cows on Lyuba Pastushok’s farm are like her “cheeky children,” she explained in Ukrainian as she walked among her growing herd, gently cooing to them and softly petting their heads.
A few years ago there were only five cows on her small family operation in Holoskovychi, a rural community an hour and a half east of the nearest city of Lviv, in western Ukraine.
Now she tends to 25 cows, six of which she bought after Russian forces invaded the country.
Wrapped up against the cold with a kerchief tied over her head, the Ukrainian matriarch pointed out each by name, her voice full of motherly pride.
She credits her success to the creation of a Quebec-style co-op in her community, and said a new Canadian dairy plant in the area is likely to help the local industry grow even more.
The project has become an unlikely symbol of defiance in the face of the Russian invasion.
Russia is stepping on Ukrainian farmers, Pastushok said through a translator during an interview in her farmhouse kitchen, “but we are developing in spite of them. We are who we are — Ukrainians.”
The $3-million dairy plant, funded by Global Affairs Canada, will produce milk, yogurt, sour cream and hard and soft cheeses using milk from the local dairy co-ops. Those co-ops will also have a stake in the management of the plant, which will employ 30 to 40 people.
Construction was already well underway when war broke out last year and disrupted every aspect of life in the now embattled country.
Investors at first shied away from putting their money into a project in conflict zone, said Camil Côté, the project officer for SOCODEVI, the Montreal-based development agency spearheading the project.
The invasion put a stop to the work for about three months, until Canada offered another $2 million to get it started again.
“Just like the whole of Ukraine, we survived the winter,” Côté said in an interview from Nicaragua.
“We have (had a) few dangerous situations near the plant,” said Andriy Blinovskyy, who manages the project on behalf of a corporation of local dairy co-ops called Nabil.
“We have missile explosion near the plant, when the electricity transformer station was destroyed maybe 10 kilometres from the plant.”
That explosion late last year forced workers to continue building through the winter without heat, using a generator for power.
When it’s up and running, the plant will mainly supply the Lviv region with locally produced products. The equipment and the brand new, gleaming milk tanks in each room carry Canadian flags.
“The factory is perceived as our own. Our country, our home, our family,” Pastushok said.
SOCODEVI first brought the Quebec-style co-op to Ukraine nearly a decade ago. It allows local producers with just a few cows to band together to negotiate for better prices.
“The needs in Ukraine are very similar to to what they were in Canada 50 or 60 years ago,” said Erin Mackie, a program manager for SOCODEVI.
“They were created because farmers needed to have that collective response in order to get the value added and to be able to generate a better income for themselves,” she said.
Ukrainian farmers were initially hesitant to sign on, since the co-operative model conjured memories of state-run operations under the Soviet Union. Mackie said the development agency worked to convince them that the plans was, in fact, democratic and capitalist.
The model is based largely on Quebec’s Agropur, the largest dairy co-op in Canada.
“This is how Agropur started, with a small co-op where you process milk,” said Céline Delhaes, who sits on the co-op’s board of directors, in an interview from her farm outside of Montreal.
She said it’s much easier for farmers to negotiate fair prices as a group than to negotiate one-to-one with large companies to process and sell their milk. She also said the profits will stay in local communities.
Delhaes travelled to Ukraine several times before the COVID-19 pandemic to coach local farmers and help them with the administrative aspect of setting up their co-ops.
The Ukrainian programs were growing steadily, as more and more farmers like Pastushok signed on, before the war began.
“People started selling cows. Some due to their illness, while young people went to work abroad. And it turned out that it became very expensive to cultivate the land,” Pastushok said.
She hopes more farmers in the region will join.
“We need to unite. Like this proverb, ‘One man in the field is not a warrior,'” she said.
Mackie said the aim is to create a national movement in Ukraine, in line with Canada’s dairy industry, and Canada’s decision to continue with the plant’s construction is a show of faith in the country’s future.
“It’s faith in the Ukrainian people, that they would overcome this,” she said.
The milk plant is by far the most modern-looking building in the area, its white siding and black roof standing out in stark contrast to its wood and stone neighbours.
Blinovskyy said he hopes it will be ready to accept milk from local cows this spring.
“It’s very powerful sign for all — for our enemies, for our friends, that Canada supports Ukraine and that the plant will start producing,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 15, 2023.
Laura Osman, The Canadian Press
Premier Danielle Smith, Minister of Finance Nate Horner, and Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides issued the following statement.
“Yesterday, the Provincial Bargaining and Compensation Office wrote to the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) and formally requested an agreement to enter an enhanced mediation process.
“This process would have ensured that students returned to the classrooms on Monday, and that teachers returned to work.
“Negotiating would have continued with the ATA, Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) and a third-party mediator to propose a recommended agreement.
“We are very disappointed that the Alberta Teachers’ Association refused this offer. Teachers and students should also be disappointed.
“PBCO made this offer to the ATA because the union has not made a reasonable offer and this strike is impacting students. Alberta’s government is trying to put kids first and bring an end to this strike.
“The offer of enhanced mediation provided a clear path to ending it.
“We want the same things as the ATA: More teachers. More pay for teachers. More educational assistants. And more classrooms.
“This strike has gone on too long and we are extremely concerned about the impact it is having on students.
“We are willing to consider further options to ensure that our next generation gets the world-class education they deserve. After about three weeks, a strike of this nature would reach the threshold of causing irreparable harm to our students’ education.
“The ATA needs to do what is right for its members, and for all Alberta students.
“If it refuses to do so, we will consider further options to bring this strike to an end.”
Diploma exam update
November diploma exams will be optional for students.
With instructional time in schools disrupted due to the teacher strike, the November 2025 diploma exams will now be optional for students. Students who wish to write a diploma exam may request to do so, and their school boards will accommodate the request.
The optional diploma exams apply to all schools provincewide. These exams will still take place on the currently scheduled dates.
Students who choose not to write the November diploma exams can still complete their courses and graduate on time. Their final grade will be based entirely on the school-awarded mark provided by their teacher.
Choosing not to write the November diploma exams will not affect a student’s ability to apply to, be accepted by, or attend post-secondary institutions after graduation.
No changes have been made to the January and June diplomas and provincial achievement tests.
Quick facts
- Students are automatically exempted from writing the November diploma exams but can request to write them.
- School boards must allow the student to write the diploma exam if requested.
From the Fraser Institute
By Tegan Hill and Austin Thompson
Next week, voters across Alberta will go to the polls to elect their local governments. Of course, while the issues vary depending on the city, town or district, all municipal governments spend taxpayer money.
And according to a recent study, Grande Prairie County and Red Deer County were among Alberta’s highest-spending municipalities (on a per-person basis) in 2023 (the latest year of comparable data). Kara Westerlund, president of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta, said that’s no surprise—arguing that it’s expensive to serve a small number of residents spread over large areas.
That challenge is real. In rural areas, fewer people share the cost of roads, parks and emergency services. But high spending isn’t inevitable. Some rural municipalities managed to spend far less, demonstrating that local choices about what services to provide, and how to deliver them, matter.
Consider the contrast in spending levels among rural counties. In 2023, Grande Prairie County and Red Deer County spent $5,413 and $4,619 per person, respectively. Foothills County, by comparison, spent just $2,570 per person. All three counties have relatively low population densities (fewer than seven residents per square kilometre) yet their per-person spending varies widely. (In case you’re wondering, Calgary spent $3,144 and Edmonton spent $3,241.)
Some of that variation reflects differences in the cost of similar services. For example, all three counties provide fire protection but in 2023 this service cost $56.95 per person in Grande Prairie County, $38.51 in Red Deer County and $10.32 in Foothills County. Other spending differences reflect not just how much is spent, but whether a service is offered at all. For instance, in 2023 Grande Prairie County recorded $46,283 in daycare spending, while Red Deer County and Foothills County had none.
Put simply, population density alone simply doesn’t explain why some municipalities spend more than others. Much depends on the choices municipal governments make and how efficiently they deliver services.
Westerlund also dismissed comparisons showing that some counties spend more per person than nearby towns and cities, calling them “apples to oranges.” It’s true that rural municipalities and cities differ—but that doesn’t make comparisons meaningless. After all, whether apples are a good deal depends on the price of other fruit, and a savvy shopper might switch to oranges if they offer better value. In the same way, comparing municipal spending—across all types of communities—helps Albertans judge whether they get good value for their tax dollars.
Every municipality offers a different mix of services and those choices come with different price tags. Consider three nearby municipalities: in 2023, Rockyview County spent $3,419 per person, Calgary spent $3,144 and Airdrie spent $2,187. These differences reflect real trade-offs in the scope, quality and cost of local services. Albertans should decide for themselves which mix of local services best suits their needs—but they can’t do that without clear data on what those services actually cost.
A big municipal tax bill isn’t an inevitable consequence of rural living. How much gets spent in each Alberta municipality depends greatly on the choices made by the mayors, reeves and councillors Albertans will elect next week. And for Albertans to determine whether or not they get good value for their local tax dollars, they must know how much their municipality is spending.
Tegan Hill
Director, Alberta Policy, Fraser Institute
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