REGINA — A delegation of officials from Saskatchewan will be heading to Germany at the end of the week, to meet with refugees displaced from Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict with Russia and offer immigration aid.
Premier Scott Moe announced the trip during an address to the annual Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association conference on April 4, following remarks on a recent trade mission to Germany that concluded the week prior.
“This province, and I hope you all can be proud [of this], will literally have boots on the ground in the effort to find a safer place in this world for the many displaced [from Ukraine],” said Moe.
The delegation will include Iryna Matsiuk of the Saskatchewan Ukrainian Relations Advisory Committee and Canora-Pelly MLA Terry Dennis, the current Minister legislative secretary responsible for Saskatchewan-Ukraine relations. Both will be joined by a handful of immigration officials, added Moe.
Matsiuk is also the co-chair of the Saskatchewan support committee with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, which the provincial government has pledged to work alongside in opening immigration roadways into Saskatchewan for Ukrainian refugees.
The premier said the delegation will be meeting with Ukrainian refugees currently staying in Germany, to augment resettlement efforts from the Canadian Embassy in Berlin.
The purpose is to potentially help streamline the process for displaced Ukrainians seeking entry to Saskatchewan, said Moe, for either short- or long-term residency.
“If these folks do make the choice that they want to come to Saskatchewan, we are going to ensure that they can get here and get here quickly,” said Moe.
Moe said the group will leave on April 9, potentially remaining in Germany for “the next number of weeks” to meet with organizations supporting these refugees.
Saskatchewan has already made agreements with the federal government to provide settlement resources to those arriving through the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program, as well as to help process applications through newly approved accelerated residence pathways.
