Ukrainians arriving in Canada after fleeing the Russian invasion aren’t being called refugees. It’s because they technically aren’t.
They’re arriving under an accelerated temporary work visa program called the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel, or CUAET.
This creates complications, according to an associate professor with the University of Ottawa. Christina Clark-Kazak, who specializes in public and international affairs, said displaced Ukrainians, who are categorized as temporary residents, do not have guaranteed health access and benefits across Canada, in contrast to refugee claimants or resettled refugees.
“The program was set up to quickly provide temporary protection in an emergency context, rather than to offer a long-term resettlement solution, which can take many months, sometimes years, to process,” Clark-Kazak wrote to The Squamish Chief.
“As a result, provinces have stepped in with patchwork protection, sometimes as an attempt to attract immigrants, especially in contexts of labour shortages — for example, Newfoundland and Labrador.”
B.C. is one of the provinces that has announced it will grant healthcare access to Ukrainians immediately. The province eliminated the three-month waiting period for its Medical Services Plan, or MSP, for Ukrainians arriving under the emergency program. Free employment services are available through WorkBC Centres, school districts are being encouraged to enrol K to 12 students from Ukraine, and affordable mental health services are being made available, among other things.
Access to housing
However, locally, the program manager for newcomer services for the Squamish Welcome Centre said that there are some complications with displaced Ukrainiains’ status. Andrea Dunne said that Ukrainians arriving under CUAET, don’t have the ability to get into B.C.’s housing registry. This bars them from the waitlist for provincial subsidized income-based or below-market housing.
In a written statement, the province said that BC Housing is focused on creating short-term accommodations for Ukrainians immediately after they arrive.
Authorities said that to qualify for BC Housing’s registry, newcomers to British Columbia must be a refugee sponsored by the Government of Canada, an individual applying for refugee status, or an individual arriving to B.C. with a Canada-Ukrainian Authorization for Emergency Travel visa.
In her experience, there have also been cases where some arrivals fleeing the war don’t have documentation clearly displaying they are under the CUAET program. This means they may have trouble accessing services like B.C.’s MSP.
The federal government said people missing that label on their documentation need to apply to extend their stay as a worker, student or visitor from inside Canada under CUAET.
Dunne also said there is no clear path to permanent residency or citizenship. This could be an issue, as it appears the ongoing war will force Ukrainians to stay in Canada indefinitely. One plus side of CUAET is that it’s allowed Urkainians to enter the country quickly, but it does leave questions hanging in the air. “They’re not not considered refugees,” said Dunne. “This response is very different to the traditional sponsorship process to bring in a refugee.”
Federal assistance
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada told The Squamish Chief that settlement program services, which are typically only available to permanent residents, will soon be extended to displaced Urkainians until March 31, 2023.
The agency said authorities will provide language training, orientations to Canadian life, help with accessing the labour market, and other settlement support services.
This includes an online portal through which Canadians businesses can offer high-priority goods and services to support displaced Ukrainians.
“[These are] extraordinary temporary measure[s] aimed at supporting Ukrainians arriving under this special, accelerated temporary residence pathway,” reads the statement.
However, the program does leave an information gap. Ukrainians are admitted into the country, then are left to go where they wish, which means the federal government doesn’t have statistics on how many displaced Ukrainians reside in Squamish.
Micha Kunciak, who hosts two Ukrainians, said she is aware of about 20 who have moved to Squamish since the invasion began. It’s likely more will arrive.
The Squamish Welcome Centre reported that it has been helping about 10 displaced Ukrainians.
“Take care of our community”
On a community level, Squamish has been helping out displaced Ukrainians with gestures big and small.
Shortly after they arrived in town, Anzhela Kompaniiets and Anton Zarutskyi had a pleasant surprise when they were getting their hair done.
When a local barber found out the couple just arrived, Zarutskyi received a free haircut.
The same thing happened when Kompaniiets was getting her hair curled.
“The girl who made my curls… said that we should take care [of] our community, so it’s a freebie,” she recalled. Locals have been stepping up, helping them find necessities such as clothing. Kunciak, they said, has also been acting like a second mother, driving them to appointments and taking care of them like one of her own.
How to offer a helping hand
There are many ways Squamish residents can lend a hand. Dasha Axelsson, a Squamish resident who was born in Kharkiv, said people can connect to Ukrainians in need of assistance through Facebook groups that sprouted up locally and throughout the Vancouver area. For those wanting to lend a hand to Ukrainians settling in Squamish, she recommended joining Squamish Stands with Ukraine, a community that has been working together to link the displaced people with clothes, jobs and housing.
She also noted that employers who are griping about worker shortages can likely find Ukrainians eager for a gig.
“They need to figure out a way to reach this very motivated group of individuals who are ready to be employed, but they do definitely need a place to live,” Axelsson said.
Many who are fleeing the war are arriving in Vancouver, but they aren’t necessarily aware that Squamish is a viable place for them to settle. Potential Squamish host families can offer up housing in the Vancouver Helps Ukrainians page, which is a forum where new arrivals are often looking for leads on where to live and work.
But aside from the necessities, Axelsson said that many Ukrainians are also looking for a sense of community. “Anyone can be a host,” she said.
With respect to Kompaniiets and Zarutskyi, the pair said they may consider applying for citizenship if things back home don’t improve.
In the meantime, they’d like to get more familiar with what Squamish and the rest of Canada has to offer.
Zarutskyi mentioned that in Ukraine, he had an interest in rafting, and, now that he’s here, he’s interested in trying kayaking.
Kompaniiets said she wanted to attend some festivals and travel to some of the national parks.
While the pair have been through a lot, things are starting to look up a little bit.
“[At] first, I was, like, destroyed,” she said.
“It’s hard to understand where you are — why you’re here. Now, it’s better, because people care.”
***Updated to include a provincial response regarding the housing registry.
