Manitoba families prepare to host Ukrainian refugees, but say governments need to speed up process
CBC
Daria and Demyan Hyworon walk through one of their empty, two-bedroom rental apartments in Winnipeg, hoping that in just weeks it will become a new home for a Ukrainian refugee family.
Daria points out that one room will easily fit bunk beds — perfect for multiple children.
The couple, who are Ukrainian themselves and speak the language, have put their names forward to house up to four refugee families in their vacant rental units in Winnipeg for free.
"There was no thinking. It was automatic ... You step up when you need to step up."
If there's a need, the family is ready to host more people in their family home.
"They'll be like an extension of our family," Daria said.
The refugee crisis hits hard for Hyworons. Demyan's mother Zorianna is a refugee herself. She fled to Canada from Ukraine in 1949 and says what is happening now feels all too familiar.
"This is a lot of déjà vu-vu," Zorianna said.
"I know first hand what the trauma is of families trying to rebuild their lives. Some families managed to get on their feet, and some are traumatized and never recover."
While the refugees will likely first stop in larger centres like Toronto, Ukrainians on the Prairies hope some will make their way west.
The Manitoba chapter of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress says they've heard from more than 170 displaced Ukrainian families who are interested in coming to Manitoba.
The group also put out a request last week asking for anyone who might be interested in putting up a family. In just three days, more than 700 Manitobans signed up.
"I'm so moved by this that I cannot even express how I feel because it's just beyond any expectation," said Dmytro Malyk, who is helping head up the efforts to house Ukrainian refugees in Manitoba.
The outpouring of support was so massive, the group had to temporarily suspend applications so that they could figure out how to make it happen.
Municipal councils across Essex County and in Chatham-Kent and Sarnia have spent this year’s budget season trying to keep tax increases manageable while battling inflation and soaring policing costs and weighing the immediate cost of repairing aging infrastructure against the long-term cost of holding off.
Construction on Marda Loop’s main streets project may have quieted down, but redevelopment work continues at several locations along 34th Avenue. This time, the focus is on preserving the street’s history.
As both the provincial and federal governments hone in on mining opportunities in northern Ontario, supporting local industries and building safer highways are top of mind for regional leaders this year.
Tucked inside Toronto’s leafy, quiet and private residential neighbourhoods are facades that tell the story of another time in the city’s urban planning history.
Ontario’s two main opposition parties will try to turn the page on what was a difficult year, with one rebuilding after an underwhelming leadership vote result and another searching for a new person to take the party helm.
This year, two things will happen to Canada's fiscal watchdog: Interim Parliamentary Budget Officer Jason Jacques will be replaced or made permanent, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will publish its review of the office.
As the era of bilateral bad blood between Canada and the U.S. drags on, some snowbirds are facing a choice this January: Go south to warmer climes, or boycott a country that has gone from friend to somewhat of a foe.
RCMP are warning people of slippery conditions on the Trans-Canada Highway after a transport truck slid off the road in the area of Clarenville, N.L.
Sidney Crosby is remembering fellow Nova Scotian Lowell MacDonald, a former NHLer who died Sunday, as an inspiration to his career.
Moncton artist Alan Spinney doesn't usually paint on a five-by-five inch canvas, but he and his wife have started doing that for a new mini-art gallery.
Residents of Pimicikamak Cree Nation are celebrating and relieved now that power and electricity are being restored to the community.
Two people are dead after an early-morning highway collision on New Year’s Day, the Saskatoon Fire Department said Thursday morning.
A small group of Haitian Canadians celebrated the island nation's Independence Day at a B.C. church on Thursday by serving soup that symbolizes freedom.