British Columbia is ramping up efforts to find homes for those feeling Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.
Premier John Horgan met with members of the Ukrainian community on Friday morning..
The province is still working with the federal government to find homes for those fleeing Ukraine here in B.C.
“We all stand ready to open our hearts and our homes to the refugees who will be coming, but there are challenges, and we were identifying issues around translation, issues around trauma counselling for the children,” Horgan said.
“Women and children are likely to be the bulk of the people coming to BC. And also how we as a government — immigration not a primary responsibility of the province, but of course, none of that matters in times of crisis.”
The province will be setting up a 1-800 number to take calls to help manage a deluge of phone calls directed towards Ukrainian organizations.
Horgan says the organization in both major urban centres and regional hubs in the province are overwhelmed by the generosity and good wishes.
“If you do not get a call back, if you don’t get a response to your email, it’s not because the need isn’t there. I’s because, quite frankly, the volunteers are overwhelmed,” Horgan said.
“So we ask for patience from the broader public as we put together an infrastructure to accept the benevolence and generosity of British Colombians towards the good people, the courageous and gracious people, of Ukraine, who are enduring the most unimaginable horrors at a time when we thought that type of activity was behind us.”
It’s been more challenging to help bring Ukrainians to Canada because of their refugee status.
Unlike refugees from Syria, individuals in B.C. cannot sponsor Ukrainian refugees. Instead, the province is working with the federal government and community organizations to help find homes for people.
Last week, Horgan told reporters the province will do what it can to accommodate a potential surge in Ukrainian refugees.
“British Columbia stands ready, and it’s not just the government, it’s people. People right across the spectrum are opening their hearts and their homes to those that are having their lives turned upside down,” Horgan told reporters last Thursday.
The United Nations has reported more than 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine so far in the conflict.
The Canadian government has not provided any details on how many refugees it will accept.
“It’s largely driven by non-governmental organizations who are in the business of taking care of new arrivals to B.C.,” Horgan said last week.
“We’re going to be continuing to fund those organizations as we have in the past, and offering whatever guidance we can to the federal government about whatever numbers we can absorb here in B.C.”
– with files from Simon Little