The provincial government has announced new supports for Ukrainian evacuees coming to Alberta.
In an announcement in Mundare on Tuesday (Mar. 21) morning, Premier Danielle Smith was joined by. Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville MLA and parliamentary secretary, Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk to announce additional help for Ukrainians fleeing the war.
"Our government is committed to helping the thousands of Ukrainians seeking refuge here," said Smith.
"Thanks to the efforts of so many tireless volunteers in addition to work by our government, Ukrainian newcomers have access to numerous resources available to them to integrate into communities across Alberta smoothly and successfully.”
The province has welcomed in over 26,000 Ukrainians since the Russian invasion began last year and has put forth $28 million toward support and services to help evacuees resettle in Alberta.
In the announcement, Smith confirmed that the most recent budget will allocate an additional $2.1 million in support for pre-arrival services and a Ukrainian Help Line to streamline information and available resources.
These were measures that were recommended by the Premier's Advisory Task Force on Ukraine.
The task force found that Ukrainians were experiencing difficulties navigating complex programming and applications, which made the creation of a help desk a priority.
"The Premier’s task force on Ukraine members has deep roots in the province’s Ukrainian community and heard directly from the community and those who are supporting newcomers," said Armstrong-Homeniuk.
"The task force has done an outstanding job of quickly determining what needs to be done to ensure effective services are available to help Ukrainian newcomers thrive here just like the generations of Ukrainians who’ve come before them have done."
Fort Saskatchewan resident Carol Slukynski was a member of the task force.
The 2023 budget also includes the following support for Ukrainians:
- $7 million over three years for settlement and language supports
- $9.9 million for social housing and rent supplement programs.
- $1.5 million for Ukrainian post-secondary students, through the Ukrainian Student Benefit.
For more information on what the province is doing to support Ukrainian newcomers click here.
