Employable immigrants have arrived from Ukraine and they are still coming, looking for work and a place to settle down. While Winnipeg is the landing place, rural Manitoba is a good match for some.
To date there’s nearly 806,000 applications for the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUEAT) program says Nick Krawetz, a volunteer with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in Manitoba. Just over 150,000 Ukrainians have actually come to Canada in this recent diaspora, so far.
According to Canadian official statistics, as of Feb. 1, about 514,000 immigration applications under CUAET have been processed and nearly 300,000 are still unprocessed. Current CUAET statistics can be found here.
There are now officially 12,000+ Ukrainian newcomers in Manitoba. Krawetz says some people leaving Ukraine have been traumatized by the war in big cities and are looking for a quiet place to live.
Mark Myrowich a business owner at Riverton (north of Gimli) also runs a staffing agency in Winnipeg (Jan. 20 issue pg. 2). He has speculated that Myrowich Staffing Agency hireukrainian.ca could have 100 Ukrainian workers out to Virden by spring, if there’s employment.
He says, “There are Ukrainians coming here who want to get out of the rat race. You drive them around rural Manitoba and they say, ‘this looks like Ukraine.’”
There are sticking points to hiring an immigrant - health clearance, language barriers, transportation, and living accommodations.
Health travel permits are routine for immigrants, but in the case of Ukrainians seeking safety in Canada, this rule has been waived. Covid vaccination status is not a requirement either. Ukrainian immigrants who come without a health check must have it done in Canada within 90 days.
There are 24 Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada panel physicians certified to do the medical exams. The cost is covered by the provincial government. “Manitoba was among the first provinces to commit to doing that,” says Krawetz. Without health clearance, immigrants cannot work in healthcare, child care or agriculture.
Some of the Ukraine immigrants land in Canada with what they can carry and without much money. The Canadian government provides hotel/housing accommodations for 30 days.
Virden is equipped to help immigrants. Westman Immigrant Services, with an office at (A.P.P.L.E) 585, Seventh Ave. S. in Virden provides settlement, employment and other programs and services to immigrants in the Westman region. Visit westmanimmigrantservices.ca. for information.
To enter a government funded language program immigrants must score a level 1 on a Canadian test. June Fefchak at the Virden Association of Parents and Professionals for Literacy (A.P.P.L.E.) office says “We have found that most come here with at least a level 1, which is being able to speak a few words, and common phrases. Through our Literacy Program we work with people one on one, but we also have an English conversation class where people of different languages can learn to communicate with each other in English. This also helps provide them with a network of friends that are going through the same thing….”
Also in Virden, Virden Employment Skills Centre on Wellington St. has a job board and staff to help employers and job seekers find each other. A federal job board (www.jobbank.gc.ca) also links potential employers and employees.
MSA, with Ukrainian/Russian/English speaking staff goes the extra mile, often helping with several difficult pieces such as housing, transportation, language, and job matching.
“They’re coming here, looking for anything,” says Myrowich. “When I was hiring for my own manufacturing company in Riverton, you don’t just hire them and expect them to show up. They’re coming here with one suitcase, they’ve got to figure out where they’re going to live, where the kids are going to go to school…”
For example, when Pilot Mound Hockey Academy contacted MSA in need of support staff, a Zoom interview with potential staff resulted in a find. The agency brought a Ukrainian couple from Winnipeg out to the Pilot Mound job site. “My staff drove them… They were super happy that we were able to bring them to a (small) town of Pilot Mound. And those people loved it out there. We’re finding that the Ukrainians don’t all want to stay in Winnipeg.”
It’s good for employers and good for communities says the Riverton businessman. Riverton community didn’t have enough workers for his industry there. “My turnover rate in my factories was at least 40 per cent every year.”
But that’s changed. With the potential for a 24/5 work crew, he says, “I never before had a full midnight shift. Now I have a complete full midnight shift.”
With a strong customer demand he can now grow his business. He says, “We’re re-populating Riverton.” He thinks there might even be a business case to build an apartment.
A half-hour south of Riverton, Gimli opened its doors to Ukraine families. The town and the chamber of commerce spruced up an airport army cadet barracks which has a gym, kitchen, and rooms. Immigrants could stay there free of charge until they had finances for their own place.
Nick Krawetz says there are about 100+ Ukrainian families in Winkler, and a similar number in Steinbach. He also names the communities of Killarney, Carberry, Minnedosa, and Dauphin.
Myrowich says immigrants always ask ‘where are my kids going to go to school and where will I live and will I be able to have a full-time job’ and then, ‘show me the economics of how to make it work.’ He points out that people aren’t going to decide to move to Virden until they learn a little about what Virden is.
