Menu

Russia

a blue and yellow flag flying in the wind

Advocates, Ukrainians call for path to permanent residence

, , ,

Many Ukrainians who fled the war with Russia are worried they will not be able to stay in Canada.

Advocates say they face a lot of barriers to long-term jobs because of the uncertainty of work permits.

Iryna Tytska says she and her family have lived in Nova Scotia for several years, so their life is here now.

“We don’t want to be sent back after settling here and having jobs and friends and families,” said Tytska.

Groups like the Ukrainian Canadian Congress want the feds to create a special path to permanent residency for Ukrainians.

Many came to the country using visas they got through the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) program.

“Many CUAET visa holders report that in addition to not knowing if and when the war in Ukraine will end, the inability to work in Canada uninterrupted and into the foreseeable future has been a major source of psychological stress and uncertainty for this group,” wrote Alexandra Chyczij, National President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, in a statement from Oct. 16.

Employers are reluctant to give long-term employment to visa holders, Chyczij says, because of the likelihood that those visas and work permits will expire.

A petition was also initiated in the house of commons by a Liberal MP, Yvan Baker, in October, which also calls for a pathway to permanent residency for Ukrainians who fled the war.

More than 42,000 people have signed it as of Nov. 5.

Tytska says she does not mind waiting through the application process, if there is a hold up with the paperwork for permanent residency, but she wants the peace of mind to know that while she waits, she will not be forced to leave the country.

She says her son has a lot of friends here.

“And he was taken from Ukraine after finishing his first grade, and he had some friends, and he lost them, so I don’t want that to happen again here.”

51812850753_7f386e468f_b

Russia Wants Its Own Space Station

, , , , , , , ,

It’s exit stage left for the Russian Space Agency.

The Kremlin will be taking leave from the International Space Station come 2024.

NASA and it’s international affiliates want to keep the station operational until at least 2030, but Moscow isn’t agreeing to anything past two years from now.

In fact, Russia wants to build their own orbiting outpost.

For the past 22 years, the station has had human life occupying it for research in zero gravity conditions and more.

The first piece of the space station was put into orbit in 1998.

526245341_51dd3fea26_b

Canada chartering three flights for Ukrainian refugees

, , , , , , ,

Our country is getting ready to welcome more Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion.

The federal government announced on Wednesday it’s chartering three flights to Canada from Poland over the next month.

Central Nova MP Sean Fraser says the move will help get more Ukrainians to safety amid Russia’s war.

The flights will help some of the more than 90,000 Ukrainians who have been approved for travel under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel.

The planes will land in Winnipeg on May 23, Montreal on May 29, and Halifax on June 2.

51939167719_1524701949_b

More Gruesome Scenes Emerging From Ukraine After Moscow Retreats From The North

, , , , , , , ,

It’s feared that more gruesome scenes will be discovered now that Russian forces have retreated from parts of Ukraine.

*Warning* Story contains details surrounding victims of war crime.

Ukrainian president, Volodomyr Zelensky will be speaking to leaders at the United Nations about the latest rounds of attacks and killings in his country.

Since the start of the war on Feb.24, there have been mass killings — but it wasn’t until a high tech satellite company took photos of the town of Bucha. The New York Times published the pictures of the area that had been under Russian control that detailed the large mass graves.

The area of Bucha was left desecrated; at least 410 bodies of civilians have been found in various states from laying on the ground next to bicycles or homes, others were discovered to have been tortured, tied up, burned and or raped. It’s surfaced that a torture chamber has also been discovered in Bucha.

NATO’s Secretary General is warning that while Russia has retreated from northern Ukraine, troops are regrouping to deploy another attack on the country from the east and south sides.

The Kremlin is disputing these accusations calling them fake and accusing western media of hiring crisis actors, with Moscow spreading disinformation to cover their continuous heinous acts and alleged war crimes.

So far the countries of Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Denmark have expelled dozens of Russian diplomats as well as many oligarchs have had multi-million dollar properties and assets seized over current sanctions.

A representative from Moscow has called this “short-sighted” and that there could be “reciprocal steps” to these expulsions and sanctions.

 

ukraine-prez

Ukraine President Speaks Virtually In House Of Commons

, , , , , , , ,

Ukraine’s president spoke delivered an address to Canada’s House of Commons on Tuesday.

Volodymyr Zelensky virtually discussed the ongoing conflict in his country as Russia continues its attack.

“Can you imagine the famous CN Tower in Toronto if it was hit by Russian bombs, of course, I don’t wish this on anyone, but this is our reality in which we live,” said Zelensky through a translator.

Before the speech, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced more sanctions against 15 more Russian officials.

However, Zelensky said while Canada and NATO have done a lot so far, more needs to be done, such as a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

“Can you imagine when you call your friends and you ask, ‘please close the air space, please stop the bombing,’ how many more cruise missiles have to fall onto our cities until you make this happen?”

He added as many as 97 children have been killed so far from the Russian invasion.

mccain-foods

McCain Foods Discontinues Plans For Russia Plant

, , , , , , ,

McCain Foods has put the kibosh on its potato processing facility under construction in central Russia.

It comes two weeks after the company stopped work on the facility on Feb. 24 — the same day Russia began invading Ukraine.

“We have now made the decision to discontinue the project entirely,” Charlie Angelakos, VP of Global External Affairs and Sustainability, said in a statement.

The New Brunswick-based company also announced that it has suspended all shipments of its products into the Russian market.

Angelakos said the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been “deeply concerning to all of us at McCain Foods.”

The news comes less than a year after McCain announced plans to invest 150 million Euros ($210 million CDN) into the production facility in the Tula Oblast region.

Around 200 people were expected to be employed at the plant once it was up and running.

justin-trudeau

Trudeau Announces More Russia Sanctions

, , , , , , , ,

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced another round of sanctions against Russia.

They target 10 people who Trudeau says are “complicit in this unjustified invasion” of Ukraine.

“This includes former and current senior government officials, oligarchs, and supporters of Russian leadership,” Trudeau said Monday.

“The names of these individuals come from a list compiled by jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny.”

According to the prime minister, the sanctions put increased pressure on Russian leadership, including President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said he welcomes the new sanctions announced by Trudeau on Monday.

“We need to continue to apply as much pressure as possible on Putin where it counts the most, and that’s his wealth,” said Singh.

“That’s why targetting his closely allied and associated oligarchs, seizing and freezing their accounts, that’s a meaningful way for us to apply pressure on Putin to stop this war.”

The new sanctions are in addition to previously announced penalties, including a 35 per cent tariff on goods from Russia and Belarus.

Meantime, Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed that that his government, Russian companies and citizens will be paying off international debt in rubles.

As of March 8, $1 CDN = $107.5 Rubles.

A list of “unfriendly countries” has also been complied and it’s made up of countries and territories who are taking “unfriendly actions” against the Kremlin which includes Canada, United States, European Union members, Britain, Japan, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland and of course Ukraine.

Going forward, Putin’s government would have to approve more countries to be added to the list.

Since the start of this conflict on February 24, there have been roughly 2 million people leaving Ukraine to find refuge and safety in other countries.

(With files from Katie Nicholls)

RQ8zOzo-x_k-scaled-1

Credit Cards & Online Content Cut From Russia

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Russian citizens are set to feel more isolation in the coming days especially from the online community.

Criminalizing what he feels is fake news, Putin signed a new bill last week and blocked Facebook and Twitter.

Now on top, of that Netflix is suspending services in Russia. The streamer has said it’s to reflect the circumstances on the ground.

TikTok has also pulled the content plug. App users within Russia will only be able to see older videos made within the country in a “view-only” mode, but they won’t be able to post, see new videos or livestreams.

Mastercard will also cease to work within Russia.

In a statement, Mastercard said that it’s network will no longer be supporting Russian issued cards. If cards were issued outside of the country, they will not work within Russia.

Meanwhile Visa and American Express are making similar moves. They are working to cease all transactions shortly.

All of this, plus international sanctions have pushed the Russian currency of the Ruble down by more than a third. Other companies are selling their stocks or refusing to send scheduled shipments which is pushing up the rate of inflation.

Meantime, people from around the globe are booking Airbnbs in Ukraine with no plans to check in.

The initiative has gained popularity on social media and aims to help put money directly into the wallets of Ukrainians in need of financial assistance.

In just two days, Airbnb’s chief executive Brian Chesky reports on Twitter more than 61,000 nights were booked with about $2.4 million (Canadian) going to hosts.

The home rental company has waived guest and host fees on all bookings in Ukraine.

Social media has become flooded with people posting their support and messages with hosts on Airbnb.

Meantime, Airbnb is also working to donate up to 100,000 homes for Ukrainian refugees who were forced to flee amid the Russian invasion.

Airbnb has also suspended all operations in Russia and Belarus.

(With files from Skye Bryden-Blom)

march-3-fed-ukr-announcement

Lethal Weapons and More Cash Going To Ukraine

, , , , , , , ,

A federal announcement came for more tools for to help in the fight overseas as well as Ukrainians seeking refuge in Canada .

Lethal Weapons

Minister of Defense, Annita Annand announced that more lethal weapons are being sent over to help Ukrainian troops fight the battle against the Russians.

Up to 4,500 rocket launchers and 7,500 hand grenades are being sent over from current stockpiles in the Canadian Armed Forces.

On top of what has already been promised, a million dollars is also going to the Ukrainian government to purchase high resolution satellite imagery.

Travel Visa’s

The Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada, Sean Fraser announced that there would changes coming for Ukrainian nationals looking to travel to Canada to escape the conflict in their country.

People from Ukraine coming to Canada have been getting priority and will continue until the new system is up an running in the next two weeks. Once that is launched, Canada will allow an unlimited number of Ukrainian nationals into the country on travel visa’s. Those applications will be much simpler to apply with and the fees associated with them will be waived. However, applicants will have a security check and will still need to supply biometrics.

Once approved, they will be allowed to stay in Canada for up to two years and they will be allowed to work or study within the country once they arrive.

The second program that the Minister announced today was an “expedited path” for people of Ukraine coming to Canada to become permanent residents and join family members that already live within the country. An expansion on the circle of family members will be able to sponsor incoming Ukrainians that want to live here permanently.

It has been questioned as to why Canada can’t waive visa’s for those fleeing the conflict, and Fraser explained that after a detailed look it would require regulation changes as well as broad spectrum internal and international IT changes that could take upwards of 14 weeks. Where as this new visa laneway will be up and running in the next two weeks.

So far more than 6,100 people from Ukraine have arrived in Canada since January.

New Tariffs

Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland announced new tariffs directed at Russia.

Freeland declared that Canada is the first country to revoke “most favoured nation” status within the World Trading Organization to both Russia and Belarus. Both countries will now face tariffs of 35 per cent on exports to Canada. The only other country that is also treated this way is North Korea.

During the briefing, the Deputy Prime Minister had harsh words for the Kremlin and the oligarchs that associate with Putin;

…We’re going to keep on going. There is a tremendous willingness among the worlds democracies to keep ratcheting up the pressure. And as I hope the Russian leadership has seen, we are being very creative. We are using tools which no one would even have imagined deploying just a week ago, and there’s more to come.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister also noted that sanctions that were only enacted on Monday are already affecting the Russian economy. The ruble has fallen by 30 per cent, the Bank of Russia’s interest rate has jumped to 20 per cent. As well, Thursday marks the fourth day that the Russian stock market has been closed.

Two out of three of the world’s top credit rating agencies have labelled Russia’s debt as “junk”; a rating that tells the world that their debts are likely to go unpaid.

Meantime, a statement from the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Canada has led to calls for Ottawa to expel the ambassador.

The document was put out Monday (pictured below) and says that Russia is strictly working to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine.

“We understand that the ambassador in Ottawa is a mouthpiece for (Vladimir) Putin, and is saying the same kind of things that are Russian propaganda and disinformation,” remarked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday.

Oleg Stepanov was appointed to the post on March 9, 2021, and arrived in Canada on April 4th.

Trudeau stressed the next step has to balance the power the ambassador has with the work that’s being done by Canadians in the ground in Russia.

“We are of course looking at what our allies are doing, and what we need to do to not only send the strongest signals but also be as effective as we can in pushing towards an end to (the invasion),” added Trudeau.

The statement ended with the words “Russia is not starting wars, they are ending them.”

(With files from Kevin Jeffrey)

freeland-mar-1

Feds Announce $100M In Humanitarian Aid For Ukraine

, , , , , , , , , ,

Canadian officials have announced $100 million for humanitarian assistance to aid Ukraine and a ban on Russian ships in Canadian ports and internal waters.

A pair of federal announcements on Tuesday are the latest actions to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

At a briefing, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland did not mince words when addressing the matter.

“President [Vladimir] Putin has made a grave and historic error. This is not the behaviour of a superpower, this is the last gasp of a failing kleptocracy, and President Putin has now become an international pariah,” said Freeland, adding more sanctions will be announced in the days and weeks ahead.

International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan said the additional $100 million will support life-saving services such as shelter, water, sanitation, and food assistance. Ministers also announced 1600 fragmentation vests and nearly 400,000 individual meal packs to aid Ukraine.

Earlier in the day, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced Canada will ban Russian-owned or registered ships and fishing vessels in Canadian ports and internal waters. It’s expected this measure will come into effect later this week.

“Russia must be held accountable for its aggression in Ukraine. Canada will continue to do what is necessary to respond,” Alghabra said in a statement.

Load More