On May 22, 2008 the Canadian Council of Churches sent a letter to the Prime Minster of Canada Stephen Harper, urging Canada to recognize as an act of genocide the Holodomor of 1032-33 which saw millions of Ukrainians starved to death due to the calculated policies of the Soviet Stalinist regime. Upon learning of the letter, UCC National President Paul Grod commented, "It is extremely gratifying, that such an influential organization as the CCC has decided to join the international campaign to recognize the Holodomor for what it really was, an act of genocide. Not so many years ago, few in the west knew about the genocidal famine which devastated Ukraine in 1932-33. Now, mainstream Canadian organizations have taken it upon themselves to support our community. I know that the moral force which is the CCC will be of great importance in getting Canada's Parliament to recognize the Holodomor as a genocide. We are thankful to the leadership of the CCC and wish them God's blessings on their important work." Grod especially singled out the leadership of His Eminence Archbishop Yurij of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada in the CCC decision. "For many years, archbishop Yurij has worked tirelessly not only as a spiritual leader but as a community activist. Ukrainian Canadians have always been blessed with clerics who saw it as their pastoral duty to support community organizations and the Archbishop is a great example of this tradition." said Grod. The Canadian Council of Churches is the largest ecumenical body in Canada, now representing 20 churches of Anglican, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Protestant and Roman Catholic traditions. We are one of the few ecumenical bodies in the world that includes such a range of Christian churches.