Virginia Ann, Canadian Press Published Sunday, May 29, 2022, 6:46 AM EDT Last Updated on Sunday, May 29, 2022, 6:07 PM EDT
MONTREAL – Dozens of well-wishers carrying balloons and flowers packed Montreal airport on Sunday to welcome hundreds of Ukrainians fleeing the war in their home country and ready to begin rebuilding their lives in Canada.
The second of three flights hired by the federal government landed shortly before 11 a.m. at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport with 306 refugees and more than 20 animals on board. Passengers approved for emergency travel to Canada landed just seven days after the first such flight landed in Winnipeg and days before the last plane bound for Halifax was scheduled to arrive on June 2.
While some newcomers emotionally rushed into the arms of loved ones shortly after landing on Sunday, others made the trip from Warsaw, Poland, not knowing what to expect in Montreal.
Alina Shuvalova fled her home in Ukraine’s Donbass region, a heavily bombed hotspot for most of the three-month war with Russia.
She said she had no relatives in Montreal and would be staying at a hotel with her one-year-old baby.
“This is a very difficult situation near my city,” Shuvalova said on Sunday. “My parents call me to hear bombings every day and I want to save my baby,” she said. “I am very grateful for this trip and for coming here.”
Yui Topolnicki and his mother waited for hours for their family members to arrive.
“This war has taken several good people,” Topolnistki said. “My aunt’s son is shaking from the sirens and is already traumatized. Even when he was waiting in Poland for a visa, he was so relieved … there were no sirens.
“He’s a smart man, there are a lot of opportunities here, maybe he’ll be Canada’s next prime minister – who knows.”
Orisia Kruchko of the Ukrainian-Canadian Council, one of Quebec’s Ministry of Immigration partners in support of Ukrainian settlement in the city, said people without foster families would be relocated to hotels in Montreal.
“We are happy for this second flight,” Kruchko said. “But we must remember that this is a tragedy. These are people who come from a country that is at war. “
The federal government has already welcomed thousands of Ukrainians since the first attack by Russian forces in late February.
According to the federal government, Canada received just over 259,000 applications for temporary residence as of May 25, with 120,668 of those applications approved. The Newfoundland and Labrador governments also chartered a flight earlier this month that brought 166 Ukrainians to the province.
Federal Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie joined Marie-France Lalonde, parliamentary secretary to the immigration minister and Quebec labor minister Jean Boulet, on Sunday to welcome the newcomers.
“What we are seeing is the impact of an illegal and unjustified war,” an emotional Jolie told a news conference. “These people never thought they would have to go to the other side of the Atlantic to seek refuge.
Jolie acknowledged that Canada could do better when asked why it took nearly 100 days after the outbreak of the war to take the refugees to safety. She said Ottawa was ready to offer financial assistance to newcomers from June 2nd.
“These people have been through hell … they are all traumatized by what happened. So we must continue to welcome and support them, “she said.
Vlada Polishchuk was smiling as she held a traditional cake at the airport on Sunday. However, her family was not among the newcomers.
“We offered my family to bring them here, but everyone refused,” Polishchuk said. “They all feel like this is their home, why would they leave it?”
Polishchuk, who has lived in Montreal for the past seven years, said she was even considering returning home to support her relatives.
“But I see that I can be even more useful from here, even though there were several stages when I felt so helpless, when I watched what was happening and you are here in Canada, living your life, these are two different worlds. “
“But being here is community and support, it’s something that helps me stay still and make a difference.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 29, 2022.
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