City of Kelowna donating $20K to support Ukraine

It’s usually something the federal government does: Contribute financially to an international crisis.

But the City of Kelowna is taking the unusual step of donating thousands of dollars to help war-torn Ukraine.

“This is unprecedented. Foreign Affairs is typically not something that municipalities deal with,” said Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran.

“That’s why we have a federal government that deals with international relations and has ministries set up to deal with these types of things, whereas municipalities don’t. However, that being said, we’re going to help however we can.”

That help will come in the form of a $15,000 contribution to help with aid on the ground in Ukraine.

The money will come from council contingency funds and will be donated to the Ukraine Canadian Congress.

“We felt compelled to do something,” Basran told Global News. “Your heart breaks when you see the images of cities flattened, civilians being targeted. It’s all awful and so we thought that this was the very least we could do.”

In addition to the $15,000, the city is also setting aside another $5,000 to support Kelowna-based events that fundraise for Ukraine.

“That is open to the Ukraine society, or any other groups of Ukrainian Kelownians, who would like to help draw attention to and raise funds for the effort,” said Basran.

1:51 Loved ones send off HMCS Halifax crews, setting sail for Europe

The financial support comes after a request from the newly formed group Kelowna Stands With Ukraine to establish a sister city relationship with the city of Rivne in western Ukraine. However, city council wasn’t in favour of it.

“Council wants to keep our support for what is going on (to be) broad, because we know that people from Ukraine, who live here in Kelowna, come from all parts of the country and not just one community,” said Basran.

“And so we felt that a sister-city relationship at this time is probably not the best path forward.”

Denys Storozhuk is the president of Kelowna Stands With Ukraine and made the request to establish a sister-city relationship in an effort to support Rivne.

“Of course, I’m disappointed because I think it was a great idea,” Storozhuk said.

“We made a four-page proposal detailing committees in detail, how it will work now, during the war and after the war because they asked for a five-year plan and we created this.”

Despite the disappointment, Storozhuk welcomes the financial support for his homeland.

“There are so many people with Ukrainian heritage in Kelowna,” Storozhuk said. “I think that explains why, in this unprecedented time, some unprecedented steps were taken.

“And definitely we thank the city for even considering this proposal and coming back with other suggestions. It’s still very good.”

Basran said city council was compelled to take the unprecedented step, given the carnage being inflicted in the eastern European country.

Basran also said that the city will soon be assisting the provincial government in helping find housing for the estimated 1,000 Ukrainian refugees that could end up in B.C., including Kelowna.

“We want to, with open arms, welcome the people of Ukraine who have been displaced,” Basran said.

The mayor said the city expects to put a call out to local residents who have available accommodation and could house Ukrainian refugees.

“Given the housing challenges we have in our community, we can’t just put the call out without a place for people to go. So we will be putting a call out to our residents who have available accommodation to see if they’d be willing to make that available,” Basran said.

“We’re just making sure that right now the appropriate infrastructure is in place to be able to make that happen.

“So for example, if somebody does (need housing), where do they call to put their name on a list? How do those people get vetted? And then, how do we then make those accommodations available to people who need it?”

2:34 Ukrainian family fleeing war in their homeland arrive in Kelowna