Sask. calls for visa process to be sped up amid backlog
Hundreds of Ukrainian immigrants have arrived in Saskatchewan over the last several months. For many of the new arrivals, emigrating from their home country was a decision that was quickly made.
Valentyn Stoliarchuk never imagined he would be living in Canada. On Feb. 24, he met a tourist from Regina by chance in Kyiv. Hours later, Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. Stolairchuk’s next decision was a quick one.
“I called him and said, ‘Okay, I need help. I would like to go to Canada. What would you recommend?’” he recalled.
Stoliarchuk left for Canada shortly afterward. His friend, Maria Chaikovska, fled to Poland with her family until Stoliarchuk invited her to join him in Canada.
“Wow Canada. No way. I never thought about it,” Chaikovska said, remembering the invitation.
“After a week I just thought, ‘Okay in Ukraine nobody knows when it should be finished and I need to find a job and I have studying. I have to do something.’”
The pair arrived in the first wave when emergency visas were quick to obtain. Now, about 190,000 visa applications are backed up in the Canadian immigration system.
According to Premier Scott Moe, the federal government needs to do better.
“I’ll ask again for the federal government to look at the expediency at which we are actually granting those visas," he said.
Saskatchewan has accepted about 1500 displaced Ukrainians so far. A study by the University of Calgary has concluded that the Visa process is taking too long and that Canada hasn’t accepted its fair share of the millions who have fled Ukraine.
Ottawa says progress has been made.
“Immigration can take a bit of time,” said Karina Gould, minister responsible for Service Canada.
“But I would say that you know from February to today we have seen tens of thousands of people arrive.”
The federal government has sponsored three flights bringing Ukrainians to Canada. Saskatchewan has committed to five.
Premier Moe has claimed Saskatchewan alone will soon outpace the federal government‘s effort at making flights available.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.