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Home is a word that evokes a sense of security and comfort, but for Ukrainians in BC watching the destruction of their homeland, it causes acute pain.
“It’s being carried out in so many different ways through the different war crimes that are happening, through missile attacks, drone attacks,” Ukrainian Marko Zolotarov, who now lives in BC, told Global News.
As of 2022, more than one million Ukrainians have fled their country and come to Canada, and more than 200,000 have settled in BC
However, they are now facing more turmoil as they have learned that funding is coming to an end.
“There is confusion and this fear of what will happen to us,” Zolotarov said.
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Federal aid that provides key programs and benefits for refugees will end on March 31.
This means that programs that help Ukrainians learn English or train them for jobs will now be in limbo.
“They have hundreds, if not thousands, of displaced Ukrainians currently receiving services, but they know they won’t be able to do so in just a few months,” says Sarosh Rizvi, executive director of AMSSA, the Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agency of BC.
“Right now, there’s not a great plan for where to transfer those services.”
Zolotarov said that many Ukrainians do not yet have enough points to apply for permanent residence.
“I think it’s a very significant gap,” he said.
Right now, there are more questions than answers about how to fill that void.
“A lot of people are getting services right now, a lot of people are getting services right now and the clock is ticking.” Rizvi said.
Ukrainians, watching the heartbreaking destruction of their old home, wonder if they will ever be able to call Canada their new home.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
