Victoria arson at pastor’s home could be hate crime, claims Ukrainian Canadian Congress

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) and its B.C. council is calling on Victoria police to investigate a recent arson as a hate crime.

The congress says the fire was in the family home of Father Yuriy Vyshnevskyy, the pastor of St. Nicolas Ukrainian Catholic Church, early Wednesday morning. It claims, citing conversations with the pastor, gasoline was poured through the mail slot and the home was set on fire.

“We call on local authorities to investigate this attack as a hate crime,” the UCC said in its statement, adding it wants police to “fully, promptly and thoroughly investigate this heinous crime against five innocent people.”

Police say the pastor escaped out the font door and the mother was rescued from a ledge by fire crews.

“The family’s three daughters had to jump from the second floor. One of the daughters, 11 years old, suffered injuries, had to have surgery and is recovering,” the UCC wrote in an online statement.

The family cat was also found unconscious and sent to a local animal hospital.

The blaze is being investigated as an arson, but have not yet established a motive.

“We’re with you and we’re here to help,” said B.C. Premier John Horgan.

“It’s tragic enough, but when it’s potentially an arson, potentially a hate crime — this is certainly something that British Columbians don’t expect.”

If this incident is investigated as a hate crime, Devon Sereda Goldie, also with the UCC, says she would hope it would trigger a ‘pause’ from people who’d consider these kinds of actions.

“If they see that this is taken seriously in Canada, and that it is handled seriously, perhaps they might consider their actions before moving forward. If there is a serious enough punishment for the crime, I would hope that it might deter some of that, though, it is hard to say,” she told CityNews. 

The UCC calls Vyshnevskyy a dedicated community leader, who has been working to support the Ukrainian people through Russia’s invasion of that country.

“The teachings of Father Vyshnevskyy would be about turning the other cheek,” Premier Horgan said. “It would be about forgiveness and reaching out to those who may well feel hate in their hearts and try and soften that and bring them around to a more holistic way of thinking.”

An online fundraiser has been launched to support the family. It has raised over $25,000.

With files from Kurtis Doering and John Ackermann