(OTTAWA) The first commercial flights offered free to Ukrainians through a fundraiser of Aeroplan points and cash, announced by the federal government almost a month ago, will not be available until June.
Posted at 5:38 p.m.
Launched in partnership with Air Canada and charities, the initiative aims to fund the airlift of approximately 10,000 people who fled the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
At the time of the announcement on April 20, logistics organization Miles4Migrants said it expected flights to begin as early as May. The organization now estimates that this will be the case a few weeks later, since the kick-off to the program is not ready to be given.
“We are on track to launch the program in early June, which is only a very slight delay. […] We do this to ensure that the process in place, at the operational level, is designed to be successful,” said Andy Freedman, co-founder and board member of the US-based organization, in an interview with The Canadian Press. United.
Once the program is launched, Miles4Migrants expects the first flights to be available around mid-June.
Mr. Freedman says the funds already raised are ready to be used to book flights, but the organization must first complete the details of its program to provide direct support to Ukrainians with its partners. He indicates that the ongoing coordination work with other non-profit organizations, as well as with the government, must, for example, ensure that the people who register are in fact eligible, that the Ukrainians have someone to turn to if their flight is canceled and they are given adequate support upon arrival.
“We don’t want to start a program where all of these elements aren’t in place,” says Freedman.
He says Miles4Migrants, which is on a mission to use point donations to provide free air travel to refugees, has worked with Canadian nonprofits in the past and collaborated with resettlement efforts for Afghans with the US government.
The Aeroplan points collection launched in collaboration with the Canadian government has collected more than 144 million points so far, according to an Air Canada webpage.
The airline says that total includes its 100 million points donation announced on April 20. “Air Canada’s role is that of a donor […]. The implementation of this program, as well as all the logistics that ensue, are the responsibility of Miles4Migrants and the government,” one wrote in an email.
Asked to specify how many trips could be financed with the funds accumulated so far, according to estimates, Air Canada did not answer this question.
The Shapiro Foundation, which is also part of the partnership, has pledged to match Aeroplan points donations up to 50 million points. Cash donations are also collected by the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto.
Asked about the role of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in the initiative led by Miles4Migrants, the office of the minister responsible for this ministry, Sean Fraser, replies that it consists of helping Ukrainian nationals to assemble the necessary documentation on the ground. , such as having an approval for the Canada-Ukraine Emergency Travel Authorization (AVUCU) program.
AVUCU provides access to three-year temporary residency for Ukrainians and their immediate family members and, according to the latest data released by Ottawa, 104,553 people have been approved.
Minister Fraser, who was unavailable for an interview this week according to his office, has repeatedly publicly stated that many people are requesting AVUCU without knowing whether they will use it or stay somewhere else, closer to Ukraine. .
The minister’s office argues that the partnership with Miles4Migrants is a “complement” to charter flights offered by the Canadian government to some AVUCU recipients, calling it a “two-pronged” approach.
So far, three charter flights have been announced. These, which are due to take place on May 23, May 29 and June 2, will allow only around 300 people each time to board, according to a spokeswoman for Mr Fraser’s team.
The deputy leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Alexandre Boulerice, considers that the government’s two-pronged approach is ineffective and that Ottawa should announce more charter flights, more quickly.
“Already, Canada is not the most effective on the ground and here we have just found a kind of public-private solution where […] there are still a lot of questions and we don’t have time to ask ourselves these questions, “he said in an interview, specifying that he criticizes the actions of the government and not those of those with whom he is quarreling. is made a partner.
The Bloc Québécois has the same request for additional charter flights. His immigration spokesperson, Alexis-Brunelle Duceppe, says he feels the government has tried to “buy time” by announcing the fundraiser and is doing “absolutely nothing” to ease the logistical burden.
“They’re taking credit for a program that they have no role in and on top of that that program is still not in place,” he said.
In a written statement, Conservative immigration critic Jasraj Singh Hallan suggests that Ottawa should have anticipated the implementation time of the partnership when announcing it. “When the government makes announcements, they must be accompanied by concrete actions and gestures, not fine words,” he argues.
In this regard, Minister Fraser’s office maintains that the fact that “sometimes things end up taking longer to organize should not prevent [le gouvernement] to be clear with the public about the kind of initiatives it undertakes”.
Moreover, both the Conservatives and the Bloc and New Democrats have reiterated their demand that all visa requirements for Ukrainians be lifted.