Karyna Lantseva, who hails from Sumy, a town on the border between Ukraine and Russia, arrived in Yellowknife in March through the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel program operated by the federal government.
The program aimed to provide asylum for Ukrainians to stay in Canada while their country was under invasion by Russia.
Lantseva said that the federal government had provided a lot of help.
“At the very beginning, they gave me an application that I needed to fill out with information such as where I needed to go and some personal information,” said Lantseva. “Once the application was approved, I was able to come.”
She added that a medical check was necessary beforehand.
Lantseva said she came with her boyfriend along with one of his friends as well. She mentioned that $3,000 was provided to each of them as a start-up by the federal government.
Despite the challenges she had gone through, she found out that Canadians were extremely friendly and warm-hearted.
Though she realized upon arrival in Yellowknife that there seemed to be a housing challenge in town, local organizations like the Conseil de développement économique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest (CDETNO) provided a lot of help.
“Celine (Dewez, CDETNO’s settlement adviser) helped me find a job and provided information,” said Lantseva.
Lantseva found herself in a totally different culture and it became an eye-opener for her. It also took some time to get used to it.
“People on the street will say hi to me,” said Lantseva. “And every time people will greet me with ‘how are you?’ but in Ukraine, only friends will do that and (made) put me confused at the very first time. I like Yellowknife because a town like this could be less stressful and have more opportunities and possibilities available.”
Lantseva is grateful to Rami Kassem, owner and manager of Javaroma, for all the help he provided.
Speaking of her parents, Lantseva said the Ukrainian government needed men to keep their country running, so her father had to stay behind and her mother decided to stay with him.
“My mother said she cannot leave my dad alone like that,” she said.
Dewez said CDETNO is one of the organizations providing federally-funded settlement services for newcomers to the NWT.
Those services are currently provided under the umbrella of the Intercultural Centre NWT, an organization created by a partnership between CDETNO, the NWT Literacy Council, the Fédération Franco-ténoise and the Collège Nordique Francophone.
“As a settlement service provider organization, we are funded to assist newcomers to the NWT,” said Dewez. “Specifically permanent residents, refugees and protected persons, and Afghan and Ukrainian work-permit holders.”
She added that all Ukrainian citizens arriving in the NWT are eligible for the full range of services that the organization provides.
Dewez also said that starting a journey in a new place is a challenge, but she is encouraging people to reach out to them and the community when they need help.
According to Briony Grabke, manager of public affairs and communications with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, the Government of Canada operates a Government Assisted Refugee (GAR) program.
Grabke said the federal government partners with provinces and territories to provide financial assistance to refugees settling in Canada in a specific jurisdiction. Refugees in Canada may also be privately sponsored through the federal Private Sponsorship of Refugees program, which allows private groups to sponsor and financially support eligible refugees for their first year in Canada.
Yellowknifer contacted the federal government’s Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for further information, but as of press time, they were still working on a response.