A plane carrying over 160 Ukrainian refugees landed in St. John’s Monday evening. (Mark Quinn/CBC)
The first government-chartered group of Ukrainian refugees seeking shelter in Newfoundland and Labrador has landed in St. John’s.
The flight touched down at St. John’s International Airport near 7 p.m. NT after taking off from the Polish city of Katowice. A total of 166 refugees were on board, including 55 children, according to Premier Andrew Furey, who welcomed them to the province after their landing.
The flight, chartered by the province’s Immigration Department, is part of rescue efforts first launched by the provincial government in March, which established a satellite office in Warsaw to help Ukrainians fleeing Russian attacks resettle in the province.
The office worked with the incoming Ukrainians to sort out details like obtaining passports, visas, and transportation.
Such an honour to officially welcome this group of Ukrainians to Newfoundland and Labrador, and to Canada. Thanks to everyone working hard to make this happen. ???????????????? <a href=”https://t.co/jPijyTjaNU”>pic.twitter.com/jPijyTjaNU</a>
Once they cleared customs — and were welcomed by cheering locals — the arriving Ukrainians said they were thankful to be in Newfoundland and Labrador after a long trip.
“I’m happy!” Stan, a Ukrainian traveller, exclaimed to reporters, adding he even had a job lined up at a mine in Baie Verte.
“I was dreaming for years to come to Canada, and I got a job on my first day. It’s just perfect, the local government helped me so much…. It’s just wonderful.”
Stan said he is still worried about his family back home — particularly his father, who is currently involved in the war — but is thankful for the opportunities the future may hold in Newfoundland.
This Ukrainian traveller, Stan, was one of the first to get off the plane and into St. John’s International Airport. He says he’s thankful to be in Canada. (Danny Arsenault/CBC)
“At the moment when the war began, I was in Europe. But I … worry about my father…. He told me ‘As I’m in this war, you have your chance for your future,” he said.
“We pray [to] stop it, and all Ukrainians appreciate the help from all over the world. We feel it so much.”
Immigration Minister Gerry Byrne said Monday’s flight is the first government-chartered plane bringing Ukrainian refugees to Canada, although thousands have already landed on Canadian soil since the Russian invasion in February
Canada Border Services Agency data reveals over 19,000 Ukrainian arrivals in Canada so far this year, as Ottawa contends with a flood of applications from those seeking asylum. The federal government has approved over 90,000 temporary visa applications since mid-March.
In St. John’s, both Furey and Byrne formed part of Newfoundland and Labrador’s welcoming party, along with local employers and non-profit groups like the Association for New Canadians.
The provincial immigration minister previously told CBC News that some of the people on the flight have already found work, starting their new jobs as early as Tuesday morning.
One of those starting a job is Iryna, who will begin work with PAL Airlines this week.
“It’s amazing it’s still daytime, it’s been such a long day,” she laughed after a long trip across the Atlantic Ocean.
“People from [Newfoundland] have been supporting us a lot…I was planning to go to Toronto, actually. But they offered me a flight, and I was like ‘Yeah! Lets do that.’ I’m going to Newfoundland!”
Crowd welcomes with open arms
Furey called Monday a proud day for the province, saying both residents and officials are ready to support the incoming travellers however they can.
“This needs to be a place of safe haven,” Furey said, speaking to CBC News at the airport just before the plane’s arrival.
Students from St. Paul’s Junior High created these posters to welcome the Ukrainian refugees to Newfoundland and Labrador. (Patrick Butler/Radio-Canada)
“These are people who have lost their homes — many of their homes, as we’ve seen on TV, have been destroyed by missiles. They have no place to call home, and we want to provide a home for them.”
Furey said it’s too early to tell how many more flights carrying incoming Ukrainians could land in the province, but says there are between 600 and 700 people who have connected with province’s Ukrainian help desk waiting for entry.
He said they are also talking with Ottawa to help with things like education and health care for newcomers, but added it’s more important to get the refugees on the ground in Newfoundland and Labrador first.
The airport’s arrival area was also filled with a welcoming crowd, eager to make refugees feel at home in their new country.
Grade 8 student Julia Lampe held a poster created by students at St. Paul’s Junior High in St. John’s. She felt it important to be there to let children and families coming from Ukraine know they aren’t alone in their journey.
A reunion inside St. John’s International Airport following the arrival of refugees from Ukraine. (Danny Arsenault/CBC)
“We want the Ukrainians to know that there are people about what’s happening and care about what’s happening. Not just watching it like it’s any other old TV show,” Lampe said.
Wayne Holloway brought his large Ukrainian flag to welcome the travellers.
“It’s incumbent upon us to make sure they feel welcome to Newfoundland. That we do everything we can. It’s on our shoulders to make sure they feel welcome, and hopefully we can encourage them to stay.”
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia’s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
