Finalized in December 2021, the Braun family formally adopted three children from Ukraine. But their family journey was about to become very complicated.
Trish Braun, a Manitoba mother, said this was the second time the family adopted from the eastern European country.
“We heard about the needs of the children in Ukraine … We know there are over 100,000 kids in orphanages in that country that need families,” Braun said.
With the adoption finalized, Braun travelled to Ukraine on Jan. 22, 2022, to pick up her children.
“We took them out of the orphanage and found a home to live in. We thought we would be there for six to eight weeks,” she said, but the trip was abruptly cut short in mid-February.
“We thought we had about three weeks left in our process; we did not have passports at the time and we did not have visas at the time. It’s a long process … We got a phone call saying ‘you have an hour to pack your house and kids. There is a driver that will be outside your door,’ and I said ‘why?’”
Braun said she was aware of the ongoing situation between Russia and Ukraine, but didn’t realize it would soon affect her trip.
“On the ground, things felt very normal and our friends there kept saying ‘no, it’s just political, it’s not going to escalate.’ Everyone is feeling normal and we are not changing anything we are doing,” she said. The situation took a turn on Feb. 14.
Braun said she and her three children needed to get their passports and visas to be able to leave the country and the Canadian embassy in Kyiv had already been closed.
“We did not know where we were going to get the kids’ visas from and that was very difficult. We knew we could not leave Ukraine without having the kids’ visas,” she said.
“We found out there was a temporary set-up in a different city for the visa and consular service so we spent eight hours in a car with the children driving to Lviv to apply for their visas.”
Braun said the process was expedited for the family and they received the children’s visas the same day.
“Three hours later we had the kids’ visas in our hands and I said ‘does this mean we can go home?’ And (the woman) said ‘yes, book a flight and go home,’” Braun said.
“We know that we were incredibly fortunate to get out when we did.”
Alysha Buck, chairperson for UAS Eastern European Adoption Inc. board of directors, said the war in Ukraine has brought adoptions processes to a stop.
“We have no choice but to put our program on hold. There is some administrative work we can do but anything that requires the Ukrainian government or Canadian embassy, it’s not happening right now … There are children who are legally adopted who are in Ukraine who can’t get out, who can’t join their families because they don’t have those documents they need,” she said.
“Our hands are tied.”
Buck said since 2004, UAS has facilitated more than 100 adoptions for close to 70 families in Manitoba and throughout Canada.
The organization has three active files that are on hold for its Ukrainian program, and all other families who were in the starting stages have chosen not to pursue adopting through Ukraine because of the war. Buck said most of those families have chosen to pursue adoption through other programs.
“It’s an impossible situation,” she said.
Buck said obtaining visas has been a challenge and she said she would like to see the Canadian government help make the process easier for parents and adopted children.
“Now is not the time for bureaucracy and for worrying about documents, especially related to children who are legally adopted. There needs to be a way to expedite these applications — whether it’s expediting visa applications for unaccompanied minors … or whether we look at waiving the (visa) requirements that need to happen to travel from Ukraine to Canada,” she said.
One B.C. family who was in the process of adopting a teenage girl from Ukraine has issued a public letter asking the Canadian government to waive the visa requirement for Ukrainian citizens and prioritize the entry of unaccompanied minors into Canada who are either displaced by war, or are in danger.
“As a general proposition, of course, Canada can waive visa requirements for Ukrainians entering Canada but whether it can or will do that in respect to adoptions (remains unknown),” said Audrey Macklin, professor with the University of Toronto and Rebecca Cook chair in human rights law.
On Thursday, Canada’s federal immigration minister announced Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel visa for people fleeing the war-torn country.
“For those who need a safe haven while the war ravages their homeland, we are creating the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel,” said Minister of Immigration, Sean Fraser.
“There will be no limit on the number of applications accepted under this stream. The primary motivation under this new program is that it offers the fast way to start welcoming as many Ukrainians as possible and will allow them to stay for a period of up to two years.”
Buck said while the new programs will help some, it wont necessarily help children and families who are in the process of adoption.
Global News has reached out to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and asked about adoption-specific options, but has not yet received a response.
Braun said she has been in contact with families who were in the adoption process and offered support.
“We are constantly trying to find ways to help,” she said. “This certainly doesn’t end until the war ends.”
2:33 Many ways Peterborough residents can support and help Ukraine
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
