A plane chartered by the governments of Newfoundland and Labrador is scheduled to arrive in the country on Monday carrying 175 Ukrainian refugees on board and the province hopes these newcomers will choose to stay.
Immigration Minister Gerry Byrne assured that everyone on board this plane will have a place to stay on arrival thanks to the efforts of the citizens as well as provincial and ground officials in Warsaw, Poland.
These Ukrainians coming to Saint-Jean aboard this plane knew where they were going; they know what support is available to them, commented Mr. Byrne. They made the conscious decision to go to Newfoundland and Labrador.
Minister Byrne and the provincial premier, Andrew Furey, announced on March 17 the opening of an office with a group of four people in Warsaw to help Ukrainians wishing to flee Russia’s aggression and offer them place in Newfoundland and Labrador.
In an interview on Wednesday, Gerry Byrne announced that the provincial office in Warsaw has contacted more than 300 Ukrainians who are already in the process of moving to Newfoundland and Labrador or who are seriously considering it.
Approximately 1,400 of the NL’s approximately 521,500 residents. identify as having Ukrainian descent, according to Byrne’s data.
The province often has the oldest and oldest population in Canada. To reverse the trend, the government aims to attract 5,100 newcomers each year by 2026.
Job opportunities
A Saint John citizen, Michael Holden, runs a Facebook page that brings together more than 2,000 members and its content is dedicated to helping Ukrainian refugees find work and accommodation in the province.
Speaking to The Canadian Press, Holden said he thinks his province has a lot to offer Ukrainians looking for a life in the countryside and the seaside.
Newfoundland fried chicken chain Mary Brown’s Chicken also helps with the recruiting effort by offering employment, a $ 3,000 bonus and a plane ticket, if needed, to any Ukrainian who agrees to work for its restaurants in Canada.
Darren Durdle, the company’s regional director at Saint-Jean, assured that this measure would not place participants in any obligation.
They can go to work a day or three, we have no problem therehe insisted in an interview on Wednesday.
Interested people were interviewed before coming to Canada. According to Mr. Durdle, they must have some level of English to qualify.
The chain has already offered jobs to three Ukrainians currently in or near Poland, including someone who was on a flight expected on Monday.
Source: Radio-Canada
