Hundreds of Ukrainian refugees to soon land in Winnipeg

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/05/2022 (997 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Three-hundred Ukrainians who fled to Poland are set to arrive in Winnipeg on a plane chartered and paid for by the federal government.

The Manitoba government said Tuesday the Ukrainians, who have secured emergency travel authorization, will fly from Warsaw to Winnipeg, on one of three resettlement flights organized by Ottawa.

Manitoba has the highest proportion of Canadians with Ukrainian roots, many of whom offered to house and employ Ukrainians who fled Russia’s invasion, which began in February. Ottawa has tried to make that easier by issuing emergency permits that are cheaper than visas.

To date, there has been just a trickle of arrivals to Manitoba. Most of them had already applied for student or work visas or had direct family connections. Grassroots groups stopped taking down names of people who wanted to help, because there were barely any newcomers.

That’s in part due to federal delays, such as a fingerprinting requirement that has resulted in Ukrainians waiting for as long as two months to get an appointment.

In that time, the Manitoba government has set up a welcoming centre in a hotel near the Winnipeg airport, where Ukrainians can get health cards and social insurance numbers, register for employment programs and child care, find language classes and housing.

As of Tuesday, that hub has welcomed more than 340 people from Ukraine, a fifth of whom are children.

Myroslava Pidhirnyj, whose helps run the Ukrainian cultural centre Prosvita, said many of those arrived in recent days.

In a visit to the welcoming hub Tuesday morning, she saw roughly 40 to 50 who had just arrived in Manitoba. Dozens arrived on the weekend.

“We’re getting larger numbers of people arriving, and actually through the (emergency permit) program,” said Pidhirnyj.

The federal and provincial governments have done a lot to prepare for Ukrainian refugees, but she said she hopes they can do more.

She is among advocates who have called on Ottawa to delay biometric checks until people reach an airport in Canada. For now, Ukrainians have to wait hours in line at Canadian consulates, or book an appointment weeks in advance.

That’s been the problem since the emergency permit system was launched in mid-March.

“There are still thousands of people in line,” Pidhirnyj said. “If anything it’s probably gotten worse, because you’ve got more people coming.”

Once Ukrainians arrive in Canada, they have 90 days to pay for a blood test, chest X-ray and doctor’s exam, which can cost $350 for an adult.

A month ago, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser pledged a weekly $500 benefit — but no information about the program has been released.

Pidhirnyj said next week’s chartered flight will test how well provincial, federal and grassroots groups can help so a huge group of people at the same time.

A provincial news release said Ottawa asked the province to prepare for the third week of May, and that two other federal planes are headed elsewhere in Canada.

Federal officials would not say Tuesday where the other two flights are headed, nor how many of the people who arrive in Winnipeg are likely to stay in Manitoba.

On Monday, Newfoundland and Labrador welcomed a flight it had separately chartered for Ukrainians resettling to that province.

Ukraine has drafted most military-aged men, meaning those who reach Canada are overwhelmingly women, children and the elderly.

Pidhirnyj said the women arriving in Canada have been quick to look for jobs, as well as summer camps and daycare that would let them hold down jobs.

“These people are very anxious not to be a burden,” said Pidhirnyj “They don’t want to sit around; they didn’t come here for a vacation.”

The Manitoba government has launched a registry of people who would like to help Ukrainians, while the local Ukrainian Canadian Congress is seeking mattresses, furniture and clothing for its depot.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca