Yuri Shymko - Politics

Politics

Shymko first ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1971 provincial election, as a candidate for the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, in the High Park electoral district. He ran against, and lost to, the incumbent New Democrat Party Member of the Provincial Parliament (MPP), Morton Shulman, Toronto's former chief coroner. He ran again in the same electoral district during the 1975 election. Shulman retired as the area's MPP, and this time Shymko narrowly lost to the New Democratic Party candidate, Ed Ziemba.

Shymko was elected to the House of Commons in a by-election held on October 16, 1978, defeating future cabinet minister Art Eggleton by 1,038 votes in Parkdale. He was a member of the official opposition, serving as the Human Rights critic until the next federal election. For the 1979 federal election, his riding was redistributed into the newly formed Parkdale—High Park electoral district. On May 22, 1979, following a highly contested race, and an electoral re-count, he lost to Liberal Jesse Flis by 74 votes.

With the backing of the Canadian Government, he personally launched a historic initiative before the United Nations for the peaceful dissolution of the Soviet Union. On November 21, 1978, he presented to the President of the UN General Assembly and its member missions a Memorandum on the Decolonization of the USSR which he coordinated on behalf of the Baltic, Bielorussian, and Ukrainian World Congresses.

Shymko was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1981 provincial election, defeating Ed Ziemba by 2,680 votes. For the next four years, he served in the legislature as a backbench supporter of the Bill Davis and Frank Miller administrations. In February 1985, he supported Larry Grossman's bid to succeed Davis as party leader. He was narrowly re-elected in the 1985 election, defeating Elaine Ziemba by 330 votes.

Shymko was a member of the official Ontario Government Delegation to the First Ministers' Conference on the Constitution (1980) and First Ministers' Conference on Aboriginal Rights (1987). Shymko Chaired the Ontario Government's Legislative Hearings on Battered Women and Child Abuse (1981–1983)and subsequently authored a major, ground-breaking Report on Battered Women. He was also the author of numerous Private Member's Bills. Shymko also championed the rights of the physically challenged. Following a concerted effort launched by Canadian academics, Lubomyr Y. Luciuk and Bohdan S. Kordan, aimed at having Stalin Township renamed, Mr. Shymko successfully initiated a Private Member's Bill that resulted in it being renamed Hansen Township in honour of paraplegic athlete Rick Hansen.

Shymko chaired several Legislative Committees and served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Community Services. In 1985, Shymko headed the official Ontario Trade Delegation to Europe (Basel, Switzerland- 1985).

The Progressive Conservatives were reduced to a minority government in the 1985 election, and were defeated in the legislature in June 1985. After initially supporting Grossman, he endorsed Alan Pope for the party leadership in late 1985 (Toronto Star, 6 November 1985).

During his career as a Member of the Ontario Legislature, Shymko served as President of the International Association of French Speaking Parliamentarians (Ontario).

He lost to Liberal David Fleet by 814 votes in the 1987 election.