Manitoba settlement agencies want federal supports extended to Ukrainians arriving in Canada

Manitoba settlement service providers have joined national calls for the federal government to extend supports to Ukrainians arriving in Canada.

Manitoba settlement service providers have joined national calls for the federal government to extend supports to Ukrainians arriving in Canada.

Ottawa has committed to welcoming an unlimited number of people fleeing the war on temporary visas but there’s concern they may not be eligible for critical programs once they get here.

Concerns that come as some families have already started arriving.

One long and exhausting month after fleeing their home in Ukraine, Alina Roshko and her two children Tima, nine, and Mia, four, were greeted with hugs from their family Sunday night at Winnipeg’s James Richardson International Airport.

“We’re here but that was a very hard month,” Roshko said.

She and her children left the country two days after Russia invaded. They’ve been staying in Czech Republic ever since but will now have a temporary home as long as they need one with Roshko’s sister Valerie and her partner Jim.

“Now we’re planning to stay safe and then (go back) to Ukraine when everything will be okay,” Roshko said.