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Vol. 18, No. 18, Wednesday, March 29, 2023 www.LamontLeader.com
Additional $2.1 million to help Ukrainian refugees Premier Smith travels to Mundare and announces her commitment to help refugees find a new home BY JOHN MATHER Alberta Premier Danielle Smith travelled to Mundare Mar. 21 to announce further supports for Ukrainian refugees arriving in Canada. The announcement previously committed to in Budget 2023, will provide an additional $2.1 million for pre arrival services and a centralized help desk. Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk, who heads up the Province’s Advisory Task Force on Ukraine, said: “This new help desk will serve as a one stop shop for displaced Ukrainians to call and access all the resources available to them,” she said at the Mundare press conference held at the Basilian Fathers Museum. She said at the conference the announcement came about, after much discussion from her committee. “Landing in a new home with no job and no language isn’t easy,” said Smith at the announcement. “That’s why my government for the past year has helped Ukrainian refugees find a new home and find a job in our province. “We’re meeting the changes necessary to make the task of looking after these refugees a reality,” she added. She said in two months the advisory committee had met with hundreds of Ukrainian community groups and determined there were additional needs for language and settlement priorities. They also heard of the need for support in refugees accessing government programs. Smith said they had summarized what they heard and made recommendations. “Alberta’s government took the recommendations to heart and made the necessary funding for the help desk to help the refugees access the necessary funding ” The new help desk is intended to help evacuees “get timely, accurate information in the language of their choosing.”
“The task force has done crucial work in uncovering gaps in supports for Ukrainian evacuees,” said Minister of Trade, Immigration and Multiculturalism Rajan Sawhney. “It also ensured we are providing support where it will have the biggest impact. As a government, we have a responsibility to get this right for these evacuees, and the advice from the task
force is ensuring we do.” The new help line will offer support to the Ukrainians in both the Ukrainian and Russian languages. During the press conference it was stated that to date more than 26,000 Ukrainians have now resettled in Alberta. When asked, Armstorng-Homeniak said about 24 per cent of the total
refugees landing in Canada were coming to Alberta and she said the total number settling here could top out at 100,000. Prior to the additional $2.1 million in additional support funding, $28 million had been committed to help Ukrainian refugees resettle.
Premier Danielle Smith announces an additional $2.1 million in support aid for Ukrainian refugees Mar. 21 at the Mundare Basilian Fathers Museum. The funding aid, included the start up of a help line which will direct refugees to government supports in both Ukrainian and Russian language.