As Canada prepares to welcome nearly 4,000 Ukrainian immigrants, a group of volunteers in Maple Ridge and Langley, B.C. is working hard to ensure all who come to the Lower Mainland are comfortable and well-supplied.
Langley Mayor Valaria van den Broek, Maple Ridge Coun. Ahmed Yousef, and Maple Ridge residents Aleksandr and Natalia Vrublevskij are among those spearheading a local resettlement program.
Through fundraising, sponsorship and partnership with other organizations, they aim to help Ukrainians settle in B.C., and proactively bring more Ukrainian refugees to the Lower Mainland.
“They need to find a place to work, they need a place to stay, they need clothing. They need local support, they need to learn the language,” said Aleksandr, who immigrated from Ukraine about 20 years ago.
“There’s a lot of things we can help to let them settle easier and bring them in.”
The group met Monday night to discuss their plans in collaboration with Cloverdale-Langley City MP John Aldag.
Yousef said he’s in touch with extraction and logistics specialists and there are aircraft ready to fly women and children out of Ukraine, which has been under invasion by Russian President Vladimir Putin since last week.
“I send out a call — an SOS — this is the time that we need to step up,” Yousef told Global News.
“There is no greater service than serving others and there is no greater need than shelter, sustenance and safety right now for the women and children that are fleeing.”
Yousef said Maple Ridge has enough shelter, supplies and support to take 137 Ukrainians, but the group hopes to expand the program with help from new volunteers and donors, and add other cities to the list of participants.
Putin’s unprovoked and violent attack has resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties and prompted roughly 677,000 Ukrainians to attempt flee. World leaders have condemned the incursion and sanctioned Russia, while thousands of Russian citizens have taken to the streets to protest the invasion and call for peace.
“We all know that government doesn’t necessarily work quickly so we’re trying to put the pedal to the metal and try to get people here as soon as we can to save lives,” said van den Broek, who has cousins in Ukraine.
“I think that’s the most important thing, is to remove them from those situations.”
The resettlement program is not a municipal program, but rather a grassroots program run by volunteers. Together, they’re calling on Ottawa to drop fees and requirements associated refugee and immigration applications to Canada.
“We appreciate the expedition and the prioritization of those applications, but really what need right now is to step up in a big way and waive those requirements,” said Yousef.
Canada, meanwhile, has promised additional economic sanctions are in the works for Russia and confirmed plans to ban Russian-owned or registered ships and fishing vessels from entering Canadian ports and waters.
Ottawa has also promised an additional $100 million in humanitarian relief for Ukraine.
— With files from Kamil Karamali