Organizations that welcome immigrants to Canada are preparing for a mass arrival of Ukrainians before the March 31 expiration of the emergency visa program for those fleeing the Russian invasion.
Ottawa has issued more than 936,293 temporary emergency visas since March 2022 to Ukrainians who wish to work or study in Canada while waiting for the end of this war. Thereupon, as of November 28, 210,178 people had actually arrived under this “Canada-Ukraine Emergency Travel Authorization”.
However, up to 90,000 other holders of this emergency visa plan to come to Canada before the March 31 deadline, suggest pre-arrival surveys carried out by Immigration Canada and according to the organization “Operation Safe Haven for Ukrainians.
This would be a considerable increase in the number of new Ukrainian arrivals compared to previous months, said Sarosh Rizvi, director of the welcoming organization.
When Russia launched its violent invasion of Ukraine in 2022, millions of people fled the country in search of safety. Canada has taken an exceptional approach by opening its doors to an unlimited number of Ukrainians and their loved ones through a new emergency visa program.
Compared to what is in place for people arriving as “traditional” refugees, there were few well-established support organizations on the ground to help Ukrainian newcomers get back on their feet. Citizens then mobilized to donate clothing and furniture, businesses offered them jobs and some Canadians even welcomed them into their homes.
But as Ukraine approaches the second anniversary of the Russian invasion, that outpouring of support has subsided somewhat today. “We don’t have the level of public interest that we had two years ago,” Mr. Rizvi admitted in an interview Wednesday.
Instead, the response gradually became institutionalized, he said. Reception services are therefore better prepared to react now, but the expected influx will put a strain on their capacities.
“I think that each part [de l’accueil] is about to be tested,” he said, from facility staffing to hotel capacity and even food banks.
The other challenge is finding housing for these people, he said. “There is no big answer to this problem at the moment. It remains a need and is always handled on a case-by-case basis. »
The organization is also trying to encourage people who choose to come before the March 31 deadline to consider settling in smaller communities where housing is easier to find and more affordable.