Ukrainian organization locked out in battle over ‘goofy’ half-century-old Main Street lease

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This article was published 17/08/2023 (1143 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An unusual lease agreement, crafted more than 50 years ago between a pair of Ukrainian organizations, has become the source of a modern-day legal battle — leaving refugees and their families caught in the crossfire.

Since 1971, the Kalyna Ukrainian Book and Gift Shop has operated from the former Carpathia Credit Union office at 952 Main St. in Winnipeg.

On Tuesday, Kalyna board chair Shelley Greschuk arrived at the store to find the doors closed and the locks changed.

Access Credit Union, which merged with Carpathia July 1, had warned her ahead of time.

“What we want is just to be treated respectfully,” Greschuk said Thursday, speaking from inside the Ukrainian National Federation building, located across the street from the shuttered Kalyna storefront.

“In the last year, we’ve been trying to have a conversation with (Access) about what our lease means, but we’ve never had a specific conversation.”

The lease in question was written by retired solicitor John Petryshyn and signed by former Carpathia president Serge Radchuk. According to Greschuk, it secured space inside the Carpathia building “in perpetuity” at a rate of $50 per month.

“It was so long ago, I couldn’t even remember it until Shelley showed me the lease when Carpathia (merged),” Petryshyn said.

“The lease, as I remember it, was pretty goofy. The telephone cost something different on a different scale, some of the utilities were covered under the lease, some were not.”

The organizations operated from the office with a shared goal of bettering the community, Petryshyn said, adding he could not recall whether the document outlined what would happen in the event of a merger.

“It was like two brothers leasing from each other,” he said. “You would have to go back to the original lease and see what the wording is.”

Radchuk died in 2021.

At the time the agreement was signed, the organizations were prominent fixtures in Winnipeg’s Ukrainian community. Kalyna owned a property on nearby Euclid Street, which it sold to help finance the creation of the Main Street location, Greschuk said.

“Our lawyers think that we are entitled to either (Access) buying out our lease, or if they sell the building, to receive a portion of it,” she said.

Access has disputed the legality of the agreement, saying Carpathia and Kalyna agreed to end the lease before the merger took place.

Greschuk denied a termination was ever discussed with Carpathia, calling Access’s decision to force Kalyna out “heavy-handed.”

The credit union declined interview requests regarding the dispute Thursday, but provided a statement.

“Previously, Carpathia Credit Union and Kalyna had reached an agreement for Kalyna to vacate the premises. On July 1st, Access and Carpathia Credit Union officially merged, and we honoured the existing agreement while providing extra time for Kalyna to relocate to other premises and move their belongings,” chief operating officer Rich Harries said.

“Due to privacy reasons, that will be our only public comment on this matter.”

Kalyna operates in partnership with Meest Canada, a Toronto-based freight company specializing in shipments to Europe. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine last February, the organization has been inundated with donations destined for the embattled country.

On Monday night, Greschuk said she and a team of volunteers worked until midnight to transfer 400 kilograms of donations from the storefront to the basement of the UNF building, where she intends to operate Kalyna temporarily.

The goods — which include medical supplies, drones and cellphones — are intended to support Ukrainian soldiers, but will be stuck in Winnipeg until at least next week.

Money transfers co-ordinated by the organization will be on hold, as well.

Greschuk fears Ukrainian refugees and their families will suffer in the meantime, saying the demand for Kalyna’s services has never been higher.

She hopes to return to the former Carpathia building.

“Our intent is to try and resolve this,” she said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca