For a Ukrainian family from Winnipeg, staying in Canada is a necessity.
Oleksandra and Roman Borys have been in the country for two and a half years and are still waiting to find out if their family qualifies for the provincial nominee program.
The family arrived in Winnipeg from kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and Oleksandra said the contrast couldn’t be starker.
“It’s really dangerous there right now because Russia is bombing Ukraine every day,” she said. “Each day. Every day someone dies (there), it’s like a lottery: you never know if you’ll be next.
“We feel good (in Winnipeg), with all these friendly people. You feel respected and cared for by people.
The family applied to the provincial nominee program two years ago, but their application is still in limbo. Many of their friends, who applied around the same time, were approved.
The couple have two daughters, aged 9 and 18, and the youngest, Yuliana, has special needs and uses a wheelchair. Oleksandra said that country’s education system has been an eye-opener and one of the main reasons they hope to stay in Canada.
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“The most important thing is that she can study here in Canada, and she never had that choice in Ukraine,” she said.
Roman added that the family’s roots here are too strong to leave, even if the war ends. He feels their daughter is more supported and accepted than she ever was in Ukraine.
“When we arrived in Canada, I saw that all the doors opened with a button. So if you are in a wheelchair, you can open any door. It’s open to anyone in a wheelchair,” Roman said. “This doesn’t exist in Ukraine.”
In a statement, Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino called the situation worrying and said she had asked her staff to look into the long delays “which appear to be an exception beyond standard processing times.” . The province says it wants to process applications within a few months, but it often takes longer.
Cuts to the Provincial Nominee Program could lead to challenges for potential immigrants to Manitoba, as well as some job markets, a Winnipeg immigration lawyer said.
“There is no easy solution to this problem,” said Alastair Clarke of Clarke Immigration Law at Global Winnipeg.
“A lot of our work is trying to manage people’s expectations and dealing with high levels of anxiety and depression. People are very frustrated. »
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