On
The program will now be up and running next month.
"We are on track to launch the program in early June, which is only a very slight delay," Freedman said. "We’re doing that to ensure that the operations of the process in place is set up for success."
The organization will help Ukrainians book commercial flights to
The goal was to cover flights to bring at least 10,000 people fleeing from
The spots are in addition to targeted chartered flights to bring Ukrainians to
While the funds already raised are ready to be used to book flights, there are still details to be finalized on providing direct support to Ukrainians with Miles4Migrants’ partners.
That means ongoing co-ordination with other non-profits and the government to ensure people registered for flights are eligible, that they have somewhere to turn if the flight is cancelled and adequate support upon arrival.
"We don't want to launch a program where those pieces are not set up in place," said Freedman, whose organization has worked previously with Canadian non-profits and collaborated with resettlement efforts for Afghans with the
The Aeroplan points collection launched in collaboration with the Canadian government has collected more than 144 million points so far, according to
The role of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in this initiative is to ensure that Ukrainian nationals have the necessary documentation, such as approval for the
The program provides access to three-year temporary residency for Ukrainians and their immediate family. According to the latest data, 104,553 people have been approved.
A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister
Thus far, three chartered flights with about 300 people each have been announced, due to arrive on
Opposition parties have said the two-pronged approach is ineffective and
“Already,
The
"They're taking credit for a program that they have no role in and on top of that the program is still not in place," he said.
Fraser’s spokeswoman replied that "sometimes, things on the back end take longer to sort out, but it shouldn’t prevent us from being clear with the public about the kind of initiatives that we are undertaking."
The NDP, Bloc and Conservatives have reiterated their demand that all visa requirements for Ukrainians be lifted.
This report by
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