Bureaucratic barriers: Ukrainians fleeing conflict want more support from Manitoba to help get settled

Ukrainians fleeing conflict who have made it safely to Canada say they are now facing a new set of challenges: bureaucracy.

Newly arrived Ukrainians say some bureaucratic barriers are limiting access to medical care, critical prescription drugs and personal finances.

Natasha Samsonova has been working to get members of her family out of Ukraine since the Russian invasion started, and now her mother and stepfather have landed safely in Manitoba.

“It’s been tough, definitely,” she said.

While she’s relieved they’re out of harms way, her parents are struggling to get coverage under Manitoba Health, have had difficulty exchanging currency and have been unable to open a bank account.

“For me, it’s a huge concern, because I’m definitely in a position to provide food, a roof, and some simple stuff,” said Samsonova. “That’s OK. But I’m not going to be able to pay the cancer bill unfortunately, I don’t know who will be able to pay cancer bills.”

Samsonova says her loved ones, who both have medical conditions, are covered under travel insurance for now, but it’s unclear how long they’ll be staying in Canada.

She wants to see avenues for those fleeing the conflict to access provincial services and support.

“This is like the bare minimum the province should provide people with,” she said.

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Samsonova says she’d like to see rebates on airfare for those who helped people flee, and property-tax assistance for people who open their homes to refugees. She says the Ukrainian community can’t provide support on its own.

“This is not enough. Community can’t bring those people here. Community can’t provide them medical care here.”

Both of Samsonova’s loved ones say the process to come to Canada needs to be simplified.

“If there would be a clear process how those people would come to Canada, some of them would even be willing to pay for the airfare tickets if the Canadian government will help them to get out of Kyiv and provide a clear path on how they can do it, and then what’s going to be next,” said Lolita Samsonova in Ukrainian, Natasha’s mother.

“When they land, what’s going to happen to them.”

Lolita says if she could speak to Manitoba’s government, she would ask for easier access to Canada and support from the government, as many back home are still in dire situations. She says these are not demands, but pleas for help.

“She’s asking for help, especially for someone elderly,” said Samsonova. “That those people who can’t survive under the bombardment, under the shelling, they can’t survive it physically, they can’t survive it emotionally. So she’s just asking for help.”

CityNews reached out to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to get a response on challenges facing newly arrived Ukrainians, but a response was not received by Tuesday evening.

In a statement, the province of Manitoba says it’s working to help Ukrainians fleeing the conflict, waiving the $500 fee usually in place for the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program for Ukrainians, saying it continues to collaborate with the federal government to welcome as many people to Manitoba from Ukraine as possible.