The following statement was read in the House of Assembly today by the Honourable Gerry Byrne, Minister of Immigration, Population Growth and Skills:
Speaker, last evening Newfoundland and Labrador airlifted 177 Ukrainian people fleeing the ravages of Russia’s criminal invasion of a peaceful nation; the third such airlift by our Province. For many Ukrainians, this was truly a bittersweet moment. In front of them, they were given an opportunity to live in peace, to regain a sense of hope and to experience new beginnings as our neighbors and as our friends. Behind them, however, many had no choice but to leave behind family and friends to the realities of the ugliness of Putin’s criminal ambitions. This is why we say, and say without reservation, the doors of Newfoundland and Labrador shall never be locked to such a warm and courageous people.
Speaker, over 1000 Ukrainians have now chosen Newfoundland and Labrador as their preferred home. While some 500 were ushered here through our humanitarian airlifts, 500 chose this place after arriving first in other parts of Canada or directly from Ukraine. All 1000 Ukrainians chose this place. They came because of our groundbreaking initiative, our Ukrainian Family Support Desk, they came after talking with Ukrainians already here and in other parts of Canada. They came here because of the reputation our province has deservedly acquired. They came here not by our words or promises, but by our actions. They came because of the incredible welcome that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador have extended to them.
Speaker, I am pleased to report to this House that, amongst the group of 830 Ukrainians who landed before last evening, 75 per cent have already gained successful long-term employment with the remainder actively pursuing specific opportunities. The average stay in temporary accommodations is now just 28 days, down from an earlier benchmark of 34 days, and none have required accommodation in provincial social housing. Ukrainian children are in school with the help of additional teaching and assistance resources and additional supports such as childcare have been successful. In fact, a Ukrainian-led childcare facility is actively being developed.
All this is to say, we Stand with Ukraine while we pursued a vision, a successful vision for a more prosperous, diverse and inclusive province. Newfoundland and Labrador is experiencing record population growth, record immigration attraction and retention and while we grow our population, our unemployment rate now sits at its lowest level since 1976.
Speaker, this is a government that will never say good is good enough. If you believe any of this to be impressive, with the help of everyone in this House, there is much more to come!