Freedom, Sovereignty, Solidarity
🇺🇦 🇮🇷 🇬🇱
Every Saturday at 3:00 PM near Kamloops City Hall, a small but steadfast group gathers. We have done so since February 24, 2022 — the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Week after week, season after season, we show up. Not because it is easy, but because showing up is how communities say you are not alone.
This week we carry not one flag, but three, and three messages of hope that are more connected than they may first appear.
🇺🇦 Standing with Ukraine — Always
The blue-and-yellow flag of Ukraine has flown at our gatherings since the very first day. It flies for the soldiers defending their homeland. It flies for the families separated by war. It flies for the children whose schools have become shelters. It flies for every Ukrainian, at home and in the diaspora, who refuses to accept that aggression and occupation can be normalized.
As someone who was born in Ukraine and immigrated to Canada, I carry this cause in my heart every day, not only on Saturdays. But Saturdays are when we make our commitment visible. When we stand in the open and say: We see you. We remember. We will not look away.
Ukraine’s fight is a fight for the rules-based international order, for the principle that borders cannot be redrawn by force, and for the fundamental right of every nation to determine its own future. These are not abstract principles. They are the bedrock of peace.
🇮🇷 Standing with the Iranian Diaspora
This week, we also stand with the Canadian-Iranian community, with families right here in Kamloops and across Canada who carry both hope and heartbreak. Hope that meaningful change will come to Iran. Hope that the voices of millions who have demanded freedom, dignity, and democracy will not be silenced forever.
The connection between the struggles in Iran and Ukraine runs deep. The Iranian government has been a key supplier of drones and weapons used by Russia against Ukrainian civilians. Every step toward democratic change in Iran means one fewer ally propping up Russia’s war machine, and more voices joining the global call for peace and human rights.
To the Iranian-Canadian community: your courage inspires us. The Woman, Life, Freedom movement showed the world what bravery looks like. We carry your flag alongside ours because your struggle for freedom is our struggle too. When democratic voices grow stronger anywhere in the world, the ripple effects are felt everywhere.
🇬🇱 Standing with the People of Greenland
I was especially moved this week when the Greenland flag arrived in time for a truly historic moment: the opening of Canada’s new consulate in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital. It was a moment of solidarity, kinship, and Arctic partnership — and a powerful statement about sovereignty and self-determination.
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FROM CBC NEWS
Inuit delegation in Greenland for opening of Canadian consulate has a message for Trump: ‘Back off’
Canada becomes one of the first countries to open a consulate in Greenland following U.S. president’s threats.
By Olivia Stefanovich • CBC News • February 6, 2026
Read the full article on CBC News
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As Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand raised the Canadian flag in front of the new consulate, she made one thing clear: Canada stands with Greenland. Alongside her stood Governor General Mary Simon, Canada’s first Indigenous Governor General, who is Inuk from Nunavik, and more than sixty Inuit delegates who had chartered a flight from Montreal to Nuuk to be present for this moment.
The words of Susie-Ann Kudluk, vice-president of the Qarjuit Youth Council, still echo: “We want to come together in solidarity with Greenland to show our support and to say: That land is not for sale.”
Pita Aatami, president of the Makivvik Corporation, spoke with equal power: “We are one people. We can work together, but we don’t want to be controlled any more. We’ve been controlled for too long.”
For Johannes Lampe, president of Nunatsiavut in Labrador, the moment was deeply personal. As a nine-month-old child in 1956, he was forcibly relocated from his home community of Nutak. His message to the Kalaallit, the Greenlandic Inuit: “We will certainly do what we can to ensure your freedom, your sovereignty and your self-determination and well-being.”
These words are not just about Greenland. They are about a principle that connects all three flags we carry on Saturdays: that no people should have their sovereignty taken from them by force or intimidation.
Why These Struggles Are Connected
At first glance, Ukraine, Iran, and Greenland may seem like separate stories. But look closer and the threads become clear.
Ukraine fights against a military invasion by an authoritarian neighbour that denies its right to exist as an independent nation. Iran’s people fight against a regime that crushes dissent, denies basic human rights, and arms Russia’s war machine with Shahed drones. Greenland faces threats to its sovereignty from a powerful ally that views its land and resources as something to be acquired rather than respected.
The common thread is sovereignty — the right of peoples and nations to determine their own futures. When we defend that right for one, we defend it for all. When we remain silent about one, we weaken the principle everywhere.
As Elia Lauzon, a twenty-six-year-old Inuit youth delegate from Kuujjuaq, said at the consulate opening: “That isn’t something that you can just erase from us by putting borders on us.” That statement captures something universal, a truth that resonates from Kyiv to Tehran to Nuuk: identity, dignity, and freedom cannot be erased by those who seek to control them.
🇬🇱 Our New Greenland Flag
I am proud to share that we now carry a Greenland flag at our Saturday gatherings. Its arrival, perfectly timed with the historic opening of Canada’s consulate in Nuuk, feels like more than coincidence. It feels like an invitation to widen our circle of solidarity.
The Greenland flag — with its bold white and red design representing the Arctic horizon and the sun reflecting off icebergs and sea, now joins our Ukrainian and Iranian flags as a symbol of shared values. If you are a Greenlander in Kamloops, a member of the Inuit community, or simply someone who believes in the right of peoples to self-determination, you are warmly welcome to join us.
You Are Welcome Here
Our Saturday gatherings have never been about one country or one cause. They have always been about a principle: that freedom, sovereignty, and human dignity are worth standing for: literally, physically, visibly.
We are not a political rally. We are a community of care. We are neighbours, friends, colleagues, and newcomers who believe that small, consistent acts of solidarity matter. That when you stand in public with a flag and a message of hope, someone driving by may feel a little less alone. A newcomer from Ukraine or Iran may feel a little more seen. A young person may learn that courage is quiet, steady, and shows up every week.
Join us.
📍 Near Kamloops City Hall
🕒 Every Saturday at 3:00 PM
🤝 All are welcome
🏳️ Flags: Ukraine 🇺🇦 Iran 🇮🇷 Greenland 🇬🇱
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Freedom, sovereignty, and mutual respect are not owned by any one nation —
they are shared human aspirations.
When we stand together, we remind each other
that change is possible, that dignity matters,
and that every community deserves a future built on peace and self-determination.
We stand with care. We stand with hope. We stand together.
💙💛
#StandWithUkraine #StandWithIran #StandWithGreenland #Kamloops #Freedom #Sovereignty #Solidarity #ArcticSolidarity #InuitSelfDetermination #EveryFlagTellsAStory
Reference: Stefanovich, O. (2026, February 6). Inuit delegation in Greenland for opening of Canadian consulate has a message for Trump: ‘Back off.’ CBC News.
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