Key takeaways:
- ‘We’ve been doing this for years,’ states Association For New Canadians executive director.
- Megan Morris is the administrative head of the Association for New Canadians in St. John’s.
The Association for New Canadians is readying for the arrival of temporary citizens from Ukraine seeking safety in Newfoundland and Labrador as Russian forces persist in invading their homeland.
Megan Morris, the association’s executive director, informed CBC News there’s a lot of work to be done but hopes Ukrainians to start coming by early May — outside of those who have already made it to the region under the federal Family Reunification Program.
“We don’t know how many individuals will be coming, but we’re looking at our benefit offerings. We’re talking to partners, stakeholders, the business community to see how we can help,” Morris said.
“Some of that is growing over the next couple of weeks, and I think we will receive a better sense of these things when we see who’s coming and what they may need.”
Morris said the federal government has also just decided to expand help for Ukrainians to offer the same services available to permanent citizens, like language training, orientation, and employment assistance.
Read more: Labrador Friendship Centre hostel shutting in Happy Valley-Goose Bay
Newfoundland and Labrador, meanwhile, has a team on the ground in Warsaw, Poland, where millions of Ukrainians have run to flee the war.
The team of four has spokespeople and immigration officers from the region’s Department of Immigration, Population Growth, and Skills, receiving help from the Canadian embassy in Warsaw.
The team has been in Poland for two weeks.
Allison Day and Sonia Parker make up half of the group in Poland.
On Friday, they informed CBC News that interest in Newfoundland and Labrador is beginning to make, especially since the region declared extra help in health coverage and the regional prescription drug plan.
Source – cbc.ca
