N.L. prepares for arrival of Ukrainians fleeing war

The Association for New Canadians is preparing for the arrival of temporaryresidents from Ukraine seeking safety in Newfoundland and Labrador, as Russian forces continue to invade their home country.

Megan Morris, the association'sexecutive director, told CBC News there's a lot of work to be done, but expects Ukrainians to start arriving by early May, other than those who have already made it to the province under the federal Family Reunification Program.

"We don't know how many people will becoming, but we're looking at all our service offerings. We're talking to partners, stakeholders, the business community, to see how we can assist," Morris said.

"Some of that is unfolding over the next couple of weeks and I think we're going to get a better sense of these things when we find out who's coming and whatthey may need."

Morris said the federal government has also recently agreed toexpandsupports for Ukrainians to offer the same services availableto permanent residents, like language training, orientation and employment assistance.

Newfoundland and Labrador, meanwhile,has a team on the ground in Warsaw, where millions of Ukrainianshave fled to escape the conflict.

The team of four includes representatives and immigration officers from the province'sDepartment of Immigration, Population Growth and Skills, which is also getting support from the Canadian embassy in Warsaw. The team has been in Poland for two weeks.

Allison Day and Sonia Parker make up half of the team in Poland.

On Friday, they told CBC News that interest in Newfoundland and Labradoris starting to build significantlysince the province announced additional help in the form of health coverage and the provincial prescription drug plan.

"Itis definitely a safety net for people that will be making the move, even if they don't need health-care services right away," said Day.

"Over time, we would expect that, yeah, everyone would need those services."

Provincial help

Health Minister John Haggie told CBC News the province will continue to provide support to Ukrainians until it's no longer needed.

Haggie said it's about stepping up as "good international citizens."

"These individuals who come over on these special visa programs will be welcome here and we will look after them as long as they need it," said Haggie.

"As long as they have these visas, we will maintainMCP and [Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug Program] coverage."

Ukrainians under this criteria will have to confirm every six months that they are still a resident in the province.

Haggie has also written the provincial Health Regulators Network about the possibilty that some of the Ukrainians coming to the province maybe health-care professionals who wish to continue their careers after settling in Canada.

Haggie said he has askedvarious health-care unions to consider how they may be able to assistUkrainiansby helping them obtainlicencesto practise in their chosen field.

Morris said it's been a busy few months for the association since helping in the effort to bring more than 100 Afghan refugees to the province in October, but the organization is ready to chip in again.

"We've absolutely done it before. We've been doing this for years," she said.

"This is how it goes. When something has to happen quickly we ramp up andwe respond."

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