Nova Scotia lawyers with roots in Ukraine are working to help those trying to flee the Russian invasion come to Canada.
The war in Ukraine has created the worst humanitarian crisis in Europe since the Second World War. More than 1.5 million refugees have already crossed into neighboring Poland — including the parents of Halifax-based lawyer, Igor Yuschenko.
Their journey from Kyiv to the Polish border took four days – it’s a drive that would typically take roughly ten hours.
After arriving in Poland, the Yuschenkos took a flight to Canada to seek refuge. They’d had visas arranged to come visit their son prior to the war.
Yuschenko was born in Ukraine and emigrated to Halifax in 2011 to study law at Dalhousie University. He currently runs IY Law in Halifax.
After watching his nation under attack he decided he wanted to help Ukrainians fleeing the conflict in their country to find safe refuge in Nova Scotia and is doing it at no cost.
“I definitely can not get a gun and go to war right? ‘Cause I’m here. So, how can I help? I have legal expertise and I know there will be a lot of people who are trying to find refuge here.” he says.
He is working alongside another Halifax-based Ukrainian lawyer, Jason Woychesyn, a partner with the Halifax firm Stewart McKelvey.
“We’re trying not to bring people as refugees, we’re trying to get them an easier faster way to get documentation here,” says Yuschenko.
Many Ukrainians currently do not have access to the internet or computers so Yuschenko says a faster process is needed.
He says the application process generally takes up to two hours but with many barriers in the way, the process will take much longer.
“Sometimes it requires a police check and you know we work closely with the provincial and federal government to waive those requirements because in Ukraine there is no way you can obtain those documents because the system is down.”
Currently, Yuschenko is spreading the word via social media to Ukrainians looking to seek refuge.
He says he will put in as much time and energy as he can to ensure the safety of his people.
“I will take as much as I can and because of the support from the legal community and if I’m unable to do it, there are other legal firms that are willing to help.”
Yuschenko says in addition to Stewart McKelvey, other law firms have offered to help with the workload.