It’s a special measure that allows Ukrainians, and their family members of any nationality, to settle in Canada for up to three years. CUAET allows successful applicants to apply for work and study permits free of charge.
Russia and Ukraine have been at war since 2014, but Russia stepped up its invasion significantly in February 2022. The federal government has provided military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and has slapped sanctions on thousands of Russians and Russian entities.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Sean Fraser made the announcement Wednesday.
“We’re going to closely monitor the ongoing needs of Ukrainians and Ukraine, to see how we can continue to lend our support and help win this war,” Fraser told a news conference.
The government has received just under a million applications to the program since it began in March 2022, and has approved 616,429 of them. Over 133,000 people have arrived in Canada through the program.
Fraser said the temporary nature of the program aligns with what Ukrainians want.
“When I speak to the vast majority of Ukrainians who’ve arrived here, their hope is that Ukraine is going to win this war. They want to go home one day,” Fraser said.
“To create a program that allows them to have temporary safe haven in Canada, while we await the circumstances on the ground becoming safe one day for people to return, has allowed us to help tens of thousands of people more than what otherwise would have been the case under a traditional refugee resettlement model.”
Fraser did not say whether the government would extend the program if the war continues beyond July 15. He said it will monitor the situation.
Ukrainians in Canada welcome extension
Kseniia Chystiakova, who is from a suburb of Kyiv, applied to CUAET just days after it launched in March 2022. She now lives in Winnipeg with her husband, son and mother.
Chystiakova’s father is in Germany because his application hasn’t been approved yet, and Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) hasn’t offered an explanation. Her mother, who did get approved, initially stayed with her husband but came to Canada last week as the March 31 deadline came closer.
But Chystiakova said she’s happy about the extension because it gives her father some time to get approved.
“I want them to be near us and to see their grandchild, but still we have hope that everything will be okay,” she said.
Kseniia Chistyakova, a Ukrainian who came to Canada through CUAET, phones her father in Germany to tell him about the extension of the program. Her dad has not yet been approved to enter Canada through the program, but she said the extension gives her hope. (Karen Pauls/CBC)
Chystiakova works at a staffing agency helping other Ukrainians find work. Her husband, who is not a Ukrainian citizen, is taking language classes and her son is enrolled in a local school.
“It’s a really great opportunity for him and for his future,” Chystiakova said.
“I think that we will stay here.”
Fraser made the announcement at Café Ukraine in Ottawa. The community cafe provides services, including language classes, to newcomer Ukrainians and host families.
“We’re only able to provide the support for Ukrainians because the government of Canada has generously opened the door for Ukrainians to come and find safe harbour here,” Yaroslav Baran, Café Ukraine’s co-founder, said at the announcement.
“The announcement that you’ve made today is a continuation of a long tradition, 130 years, of generous opening of doors by Canada to Ukrainians.”
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) welcomed the government’s announcement.
“Our community is also grateful to the thousands of Canadians from coast to coast to coast who have opened their hearts and their homes to Ukrainians, the volunteers who work tirelessly to welcome Ukrainians in cities and towns across Canada, and the settlement services which deliver essential programs and supports,” Alexandra Chyczij, the UCC’s national president, said in a media statement.
“With increased support from allies like Canada, this year can be the year that the Russian armies are driven out of Ukraine and peace returns to Europe.”
Ukrainian refugees walk alongside vehicles lining up to cross the border from Ukraine into Moldova near Mayaky-Udobne, Ukraine on Feb. 26, 2022. (Sergei Grits/The Associated Press)
Iain Reeve, associate director for immigration research at The Conference Board of Canada, said CUAET has brought new workers into Canada at a time when the country is facing a labour shortage.
“The Ukrainians come with a really wide variety of skills that can fit really well into a lot of available positions across Canada,” Reeve said.
“We see the enthusiasm that a lot of communities have had to welcome people, not just for the really obvious humanitarian benefits, but also because they see the potential labour market and economic benefits of welcoming Ukrainians — even if it is only on a temporary basis.”
But Reeve said the government will have to think carefully about the future of those coming in through the program.
“There’s a balance to be struck between not wanting to bring a bunch of people here under very difficult circumstances and maybe rob Ukraine of exactly the people that they’ll want to have back in the country to help rebuild once the conflict is hopefully over,” he said.
“But at the same time, if people want to stay in Canada, maybe we want to try to give them options to do that.”
GATINEAU, Que. – The Competition Bureau says it’s obtained a court order to advance an ongoing investigation into marketing practises by Leon’s Furniture Ltd. and its subsidiary The Brick.
The bureau says the court order requires the companies to produce records and written information relevant to the investigation.
The bureau says the practises in question could include false or misleading claims about the time-limited nature of sales or promotions, or potentially inflated regular prices used when making claims about savings.
They could also include sale claims without specifying the discount amount, as well as the use of distinct font colours for displaying prices, which the bureau says could mislead customers into thinking they are benefitting from a sale.
The bureau says there is no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time.
Leon’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2024.
Two Canadian companies have been named in separate frozen-potato price-fixing lawsuits south of the border.
McCain Foods Ltd. and Cavendish Farms are two of the companies accused of being part of a “potato cartel,” conspiring with other large potato processors by sharing pricing data in an effort to raise the price of frozen potatoes in the U.S.
The two other companies named in the class-action lawsuits are U.S. companies Lamb Weston Inc. and J.R. Simplot Co., as well as an industry association called the National Potato Promotion Board.
One of the class-action complaints was filed in an Illinois court on Nov. 15 while the other was filed in an Illinois court on Nov. 17.
The class actions have yet to be certified.
McCain and Cavendish have not responded to requests for comment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2024.
OTTAWA – The Canadian and American embassies in Ukraine are closed to the public today after the U.S. warned of a “potential significant air attack” by Russia in Kyiv.
Ukraine’s intelligence agency posted a statement today accusing Russia of spreading fake messages about the threat of an “extremely massive” attack on Ukrainian cities and urging people not to panic.
A message from the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv says it received specific information about a possible attack and out of an abundance of caution, employees are sheltering in place.
Global Affairs Canada’s website says in-person services at the Canadian Embassy are temporarily suspended.
Ukraine used U.S.-supplied missiles to strike inside Russia for the first time this week, a move the Kremlin says adds “fuel to the fire” of the war.
U.S. President Joe Biden gave the green light for Kyiv to strike Russian targets and to use antipersonnel landmines, as part of a larger effort to bolster Ukraine’s defence before Donald Trump takes over the White House in January.
Trump and his allies have been critical of American funding for Ukraine, stoking fears the president-elect could cut off supplies to the embattled country.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters this week that he has long called for allies to give Ukraine permission to strike Russian military targets.
“I have, for months now, talked about how important it is to degrade the capacity of the Russian military to strike into Ukraine with impunity because Ukraine hasn’t been able to strike on factories and military production sites in Russia,” he said in a press conference in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday.
Trudeau and Biden discussed Ukraine in a bilateral meeting this week at the G20 leaders’ summit.
Trudeau was critical of the G20’s final statement, saying it was not strong enough in its support of Ukraine. Russia is a member of the G20 and this year’s statement from the leaders did not mention Russia at all.
The BBC reported Wednesday morning that missiles supplied by the U.K. have also been used inside Russia for the first time since the conflict began more than 1,000 days ago.
The Biden administration’s move is being seen as an escalation in Moscow.
Asked Tuesday whether a Ukrainian attack with longer-range U.S. missiles could potentially trigger the use of nuclear weapons, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov answered affirmatively.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2024.
— With files from Dylan Robertson and The Associated Press
