The legal guardian of three Ukrainian children who became stuck in Mexico during a trip learned Thursday she will be able to get the kids back to Canada where they fled during the war, after CBC News made multiple inquiries with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The children — a nine-year-old boy and two 12-year-old girls — have been in Mexico since Dec. 11, when they arrived in Puerto Vallarta with their Canadian guardian, Olga Ostapiv, for what was supposed to be a week-long vacation.
After two months of fighting to bring them back to Canada, Ostapiv said immigration officials instructed her Thursday to take the children and their passports to Mexico City, where the paperwork will be processed to finally get the children home. She said she hopes to have the children back in Edmonton early next week.
Ostapiv, who is Ukrainian, originally took in the children and became their legal guardian because she wanted to help people from her homeland, which she left in 2009. One of the girls is her sister’s granddaughter, while the other two are the children of family friends.
The children arrived in Canada in May and Ostapiv said they had been adjusting to their new lives in Edmonton.
“They are very sweet, good behaviour kids,” she said.
Her family was slated to take the trip to Mexico, which had been postponed because of the pandemic, and Ostapiv said she couldn’t bear to leave the kids behind, so she decided to take them along.
From left, Maksym, Yuliia and Anastasiia arrived in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on Dec. 11 for a vacation with Ostapiv, their legal guardian. They have been unable to return to Canada because of visa issues. (Submitted by Olga Ostapiv)
Visas only allowed one-time entry to Canada
But when they tried to board the flight home on Dec. 18, Ostapiv said she was told they could not return to Canada.
The children originally arrived in Canada on emergency travel visas, which Ostapiv did not realize only allowed for one-time entry into the country.
When she realized the mistake, Ostapiv set about submitting new via applications for the three children, which she filed on Dec. 22, but there was no response.
“Every day, twice a day, I’m going to my computer. I’m checking. Maybe it’s some news,” she said Wednesday, recalling how they became stuck in Mexico, moving from hotel to hotel as they awaited word on their fate.
Ostapiv stayed there with them until the beginning of January, when she had to return to Edmonton for work. Another relative is now in Mexico with the children.
As the issue dragged on, Ostapiv became desperate and says she even considered sending them back to Ukraine.
“When I told this [to] the kids, they [were] looking at me, ‘Please don’t send us back home,'” she said.
“I’m doing my best to bring them home … to fix my mistake,” Ostapiv said, with tears in her eyes. “It’s not anyone’s fault. It’s only my fault.”
Ostapiv, who is originally from Ukraine, took in the children after Russia invaded Ukraine and they first arrived in Edmonton last May. (Samuel Martin/CBC)
CBC News spoke with the children over video chat in Puerto Vallarta earlier this week.
“We really want to return to Canada because it is very difficult for us,” said 12-year-old Yuliia.
“We miss our friends and family,” said 12-year-old Anastasiia.
Frustration from those helping
Mike Thomas, a Ukrainian relief organizer who has been helping Ostapiv with the situation, said he’s been talking to MPs and reaching out to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser on the family’s behalf.
“Enough is enough, you know? We realize there’s a mistake made and everybody understands that,” Thomas said Wednesday, before receiving news that the children could return to Canada.
“But we have a five-minute solution to this problem … The minister signs a letter, they can issue a travel document instantaneously and [the kids] could be on the next flight home.”
CBC News requested an interview with Fraser while Ostapiv was still awaiting a decision, but Fraser’s spokesperson said the minister was not able to speak to specific cases.
In a statement, the IRCC said it processes applications as quickly as possible, but complex applications may take longer.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
CHICAGO (AP) — United Airlines has struck a deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to offer satellite-based Starlink WiFi service on flights within the next several years.
The airline said Friday the service will be free to passengers.
United said it will begin testing the service early next year and begin offering it on some flights by later in 2025.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
The announcement comes as airlines rush to offer more amenities as a way to stand out when passengers pick a carrier for a trip. United’s goal is to make sitting on a plane pretty much like being on the ground when it comes to browsing the internet, streaming entertainment and playing games.
“Everything you can do on the ground, you’ll soon be able to do on board a United plane at 35,000 feet, just about anywhere in the world,” CEO Scott Kirby said in announcing the deal.
The airline says Starlink will allow passengers to get internet access even over oceans and polar regions where traditional cell or Wi-Fi signals may be weak or missing.
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
