2023
Interdepartmental – Executive Council; Immigration, Population Growth and Skills
Allison Day, Sarah Kirby, Darek Nakonieczny, Iwona Nakonieczny, Sheldon Joseph O’Neill, Sonia Parker, Angela Bachan Sidhu, Sophia Rachel Solomon, Sarah Thompson
On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Within mere weeks, a team of public service employees had been identified to travel to Poland to offer in-person, expedited support to Ukrainians seeking temporary safe-haven and permanent resettlement in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Ukrainian Family Support Desk was created to provide on the ground support to those displaced by the invasion of Ukraine who were looking to travel to Canada. On the first days of their deployment, team members walked the streets of Warsaw, visiting train stations and temporary shelters established for Ukrainians and speaking directly with those impacted. The work was challenging and emotional, meeting families who had been forced from their homes and separated from loved ones. The ability of several team members to speak Polish, Russian and Ukrainian helped to facilitate this communication.
The team’s scope of work included setting up the on-site support desk, establishing connections with the Canadian Embassy, local government and non-profit support groups, and distributing information about immigration programs and support services offered by our province.
The Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism led this initiative and provided support from back home in Newfoundland and Labrador. Their collective efforts and inspiring hard work has achieved a historic level of immigration to this province.
Since the beginning of the invasion, approximately 700 Ukrainians have come to the province on four Provincial Government sponsored airlifts, a direct result of the efforts of this team. Based on this success, more Ukrainians have come to the province by their own means, with over 2,700 Ukrainians now living in Newfoundland and Labrador. These families have settled in 40 communities across the province, from Labrador West to St. John’s.
The Ukrainian Family Support Desk Team were trailblazers of an innovative approach of providing humanitarian and immigration services, and their actions of courageous and compassionate have been lauded by the Government of Canada as representing a new service model.