Alberta provides accommodation funding for Ukrainian evacuees

NP-UN
Western Bureau

Alberta’s government is providing an additional $4.32 million to help Ukrainian evacuees find temporary living spaces upon arrival.

This funding will provide further emergency accommodations for the next four months to supplement support from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The new funds will increase the number of hotel rooms available to Ukrainians when they arrive in Alberta and cover transportation costs to hotels when evacuees arrive in Calgary and Edmonton. Additional hotel rooms will be available in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat.

Since the war in Ukraine began, more than 28,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Alberta.

“Alberta’s government is providing additional funding to ensure that Ukrainian evacuees have a safe place to stay when they first arrive in Alberta. This new funding comes directly from consultations with community partners that flagged the need for increased supports for evacuees. I will continue to advocate for more funding from the federal government to ensure Ukrainians have all the supports they need to settle in Alberta,” says Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Trade, Immigration and Multiculturalism.

“This funding will provide critical help to Ukrainian newcomers with immediate needs upon arrival, and it will help ease pressures on Ukrainian families and the agencies that are supporting them,” adds Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk, parliamentary secretary for Ukrainian Refugee Settlement.

Alberta’s government has provided supports to ensure evacuees can successfully settle in the province and will continue to step up where there is a need. Continued funding through Budget 2023 will go toward much-needed supports in settlement, language, education, food security, social services, housing and financial benefits. The government appreciates the work of the many agencies that dedicate their resources to supporting Ukrainian newcomers and that keep the government informed of the newcomers’ needs.

“This funding is a huge relief for all the Ukrainians overwhelmed upon arrival, and for the agencies helping them. This allows us to help people stay somewhere safe while they figure out a plan to get on their own two feet – now they can do it even faster. There is still going to be a need for people and companies to rally and help newcomers – that's what has got us through this past year and allowed us to serve almost 10,000 newcomers. This government funding will make it all more manageable, especially because the terms are flexible to meet the needs of the families when they need the help,” noted Yulia Gorbach, of the Calgary Ukrainian Evacuee Welcome Committee.

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