Faced with growing pressure to evacuate Ukrainian refugees, Ottawa will soon arrange three charter flights to Winnipeg, Montreal and Halifax.
Almost three months have passed between the start of the war in Ukraine and the first transportation of refugees organized by the federal government.
The three Canadian chartered planes will fly from Warsaw, Poland, and head to Winnipeg (May 23), Montreal (May 29) and Halifax (June 2), according to information obtained by Radio-Canada. About 900 Ukrainians are expected to benefit, at the rate of 300 people per flight, according to estimates by a government official.
The federal government will make the announcement Wednesday morning.
Ottawa has agreed with a private carrier to carry out the operation and pay the bill. Places will be distributed free of charge according to a system first come, first served.
Only Ukrainians who have obtained a visa through the new Canada-Ukraine Emergency Travel Authorization (AVUCU) may try to reserve a place. Qualified individuals will receive an email within the next few days with information on how to register.
When in Canada, will offer free accommodation to Ukrainians without a suitable place to stay for up to 14 days.
In Ottawa, the opposition has called for the organization of evacuation flights for weeks and accused the Trudeau government of dragging on its feet. Last week, Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe criticized the Minister of Transport (New window) to look human disturbed by the situation. Minister Omar Alghabra admitted he was facing logistical challenges.
He pointed out that many Ukrainians were no longer where they were when they applied for their Canadian visas, making it difficult to arrange air transport.
So far, it is unclear whether these flights will be accessible for Ukrainians who are in other European countries than Poland and whether Ottawa will facilitate, if necessary, their transportation to Warsaw to board charter plans. of Canada.
The provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador preceded the federal government by arranging its own flight to evacuate from Poland. One hundred and sixty-six Ukrainian refugees landed in Saint-Jean on Monday night.
From March 17 to May 4, Canada approved applications for 91,500 Ukrainians and their relatives underAVUCU. A total of 204,000 applications were submitted to the Canadian government in the same period.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, nearly 6 million Ukrainians have fled their country since the Russian aggression began. Poland hosts the largest share, 3.2 million people.
Source: Radio-Canada