B.C. organizers demand clear plan as hundreds of Ukrainians could arrive within days
CTV
Prominent members of British Columbia's Ukrainian community are demanding a clear plan from the provincial government as they expect a planeload of displaced families to arrive in the province as early as this week.
Prominent members of British Columbia’s Ukrainian community are demanding a clear plan from the provincial government as they expect a planeload of displaced families to arrive in the province as early as this week.
The urgency comes as the minister responsible insists government-wide work is underway, but detailed planning is difficult without more information from the federal government, which is responsible for approving the special visas required.
Pastor Mykhailo Ozorovych was expecting a list of supports and a plan from the province on Thursday, since the federal government was announcing new visa details, but he says provincial responsibilities like health care, child care and mental health supports are still up in the air.
"There is somebody willing to help us bring a planeload of people – 300 to 400 people – here to British Columbia and are we ready and willing to work with them? And I said, ‘Yes, I don't know how, but yes, let's help them,’" said the priest at the Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Canadian Cathedral in New Westminster.
"I'm just asking for actual steps to be put in place,” he said, acknowledging he doesn’t know the inner workings of government, but sees the need for clear planning and communication.
“Some of it needs to be done today and tomorrow and some of it should've been done yesterday."
Until now, the public safety minister has been fielding questions on the province’s role and insisting the onus is on the federal government, but Municipal Services Minister Nathan Cullen is now the face of B.C.’s response. He gave an in-depth interview on the topic to CTV News on Sunday.
