'Despair, betrayal, disbelief': Ukrainians who fled to Canada face uncertainty over immigration status

A Ukrainian family in Halifax says the federal government needs to provide answers to the thousands of Ukrainians who are now learning that it could be more than 50 years before their permanent residency applications are processed.

Oleh Zadoretskyy first learned of the possibility of the decades-long wait after reading a CBC News report in October.

He's part of an online community of Ukrainians who arrived using the pathway created under the humanitarian and compassionate stream to help them flee the war. He said some of his friends thought the report was so outrageous, it had to be Russian propaganda.

It wasn't until one of their lawyers filed an access-to-information request which confirmed waits could hit 55 years that reality sunk in.

"Despair, betrayal, disbelief, shock," Zadoretskyy said of the possibility.

"How is it sustainable in their view to have a 55-year waiting time? No one lives that long. No one can expect any kind of provisional temporary status for 55 years."

Zadoretskyy arrived in Halifax with his wife and two daughters in March 2023.

They're from Stryi, Ukraine, but were working in Latvia when the war broke out. They feared Russia would invade the Baltic country as well and applied to come to Canada, where Zadoretskyy's brother-in-law is a citizen.

Zadoretskyy works as a software developer while his wife has a job at a charity. Their daughters, who are now nine and 14, go to school and consider Halifax home.

"I want them to grow up in a place where they're not at risk of being bombed and they don't have to worry about being bombed," he said.

"Of all the places in the world, this country is probably going to be among the most peaceful ones."

Zadoretskyy has three years left on his current work permit, but he's more concerned about his daughters. Both of them are on visitor permits that expire in March. He applied for their renewal a year ago, but still there's no update.

Without paperwork, the girls cannot get health cards or go to school.

"I don't want Canada to give me any money or any public assistance. I don't need it, thank you very much. This is all I want," he said while holding their permits that will soon expire.