Dozens of balloon and flower supporters packed a Montreal airport on Sunday to welcome hundreds of Ukrainians fleeing the war to their home country as they prepare to begin rebuilding their lives in Canada.
The second of three flights chartered 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 final plane, bound for Halifax, arrived on June 2.
While some newcomers rushed emotionally into the arms of their loved ones shortly after disembarking on Sunday, others made the trip from Warsaw, Poland, not knowing what to expect in Montreal.
Alina Shuvalova fled her home in the Donbas region of Ukraine, a hot spot heavily bombed during much of the three-month war with Russia.
He said he has no relatives in Montreal and will be staying in a hotel with his one-year-old baby.
“It’s (a) very tough situation near my city,” Shuvalova said on Sunday. “My parents tell me they hear a bombing every day and I want to save my baby,” she said. “I am so grateful for this trip and for coming here.”
People expect Ukrainian nationals fleeing the ongoing war to arrive at Montreal’s Trudeau Airport on Sunday, May 29, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS / Graham Hughes
Yuriy Topolnytsky and her mother had been waiting for their relatives to arrive for hours.
“This war took good people,” Topolnystky said. “My aunt’s son has been shaking from the sirens and is already traumatized. Even when he was waiting for the visa in Poland, he was so relieved … there was no siren.”
“He’s a smart guy, he has a lot of opportunities here, maybe he’ll become the next Prime Minister of Canada, who knows.”
Orysia Krucko of the Ukrainian-Canadian Council, one of the partners of the Quebec Ministry of Immigration in supporting the installation of Ukraine in the city, said that people without host families would move to hotels in Montreal.
“We’re happy with this second flight,” Krucko said. “But we have to remember that this is a tragedy. They are people who come from a country that is at war.”
Ukrainian nationals fleeing the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine arrive at Winnipeg’s Richardson International Airport on Monday, May 23, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS / David Lipnowski
According to federal government data, Canada has received just over 259,000 applications for temporary residency as of May 25, with 120,668 of these applications approved. The Newfoundland and Labrador government also chartered a flight earlier this month that took 166 Ukrainians to the province.
Federal Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly joined Marie-France Lalonde, parliamentary secretary to Quebec Immigration Minister and Labor Minister Jean Boulet, on Sunday to welcome newcomers.
“What we are seeing is the impact of illegal and unjustifiable warfare,” an emotional Joly told a news conference. “These people never thought they would have to go to the other side of the Atlantic to seek refuge.”
Joly acknowledged that Canada could do better when asked why it took almost 100 days after the outbreak of war to bring refugees to a safe place. He said Ottawa was ready to offer financial assistance to newcomers starting June 2.
“These people have gone through hell … they are all traumatized by what has happened. So we must continue to welcome and support them,” he said.
Vlada Polishchuk smiled as she celebrated a traditional cake at the airport on Sunday. His family, however, was not among the newcomers.
“We proposed to my family to bring them here, but everyone refused,” Polishchuk said. “Everyone feels it’s her home, why would they leave her?”
Polishchuk, who has lived in Montreal for the past seven years, said he even planned to return home to support his family.
“But I see that from here I can be even more useful even though there were some stages where I felt so helpless when I watched what was going on and you’re here in Canada, living your life, it’s two different worlds.” .
“But being here is the community and the support, that’s something that helps me stay still and make a difference.”
– This report from The Canadian Press was first published on May 29, 2022.