Sask. reduces settlement support funding as number of new Ukrainian refugees ebbs

Darla Ponace · CBC News

· Posted: May 01, 2025 6:49 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

The Saskatchewan authorities has reduced backing for the Ukrainian Canadian Congress - Saskatchewan Provincial Council (UCC-SPC), which offers colony services for displaced Ukrainians.

The reduction, effectual May 1, was portion of the provincial fund tabled earlier this year. The state says it reflects a return to mean backing levels after a bump to assistance woody with the ample influx of Ukrainians successful the earlier years of the Russian penetration of Ukraine.

"This is simply a simplification recognizing that less radical are utilizing the services," Saskatchewan Minister of Immigration and Career Training Jim Reiter said. "But the services are inactive successful place. The Ukrainian refugees are besides invited to usage each the colony services that different groups usage arsenic well."

Funding for UCC-SPC has gone down by $500,000, but Reiter emphasized that nary services person been eliminated.

Effective Wednesday, UCC-SCP laid disconnected 5 full-time and 1 part-time unit subordinate successful Regina and Saskatoon owed to the cut.

"Although the fig of arrivals to Saskatchewan has declined implicit the past year, this determination was a surprise," said Elena Krueger, president of UCC-SPC.

She said the organization has been delivering indispensable colony services to radical who person sought refuge successful Saskatchewan since the commencement of the war.

"UCC Saskatchewan is grateful to the Government of Saskatchewan for its enactment for displaced Ukrainians implicit the past 3 years," Krueger said.

"It is, however, disappointing that, astatine a clip erstwhile Russia continues to weaponry Ukraine connected a regular ground and Ukrainian men, women and children are being killed, the backing for needed colony supports for those who person fled the warfare is being cut."

NDP MLA for Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood Keith Jorgenson criticized the simplification this week, saying it was atrocious some morally and economically.

"Putin's warfare rages connected and Scott Moe himself said successful March his authorities stood with Ukraine and would invited successful much radical displaced by this devastating penetration — but intelligibly his actions archer an wholly antithetic story," Jorgenson said.

Jorgenson said galore radical inactive request support, adjacent if determination are less caller arrivals.

"My examination is that erstwhile my woman and I stopped having kids, we strangely continued to bargain groceries," helium said. "Merely due to the fact that the radical person stopped arriving it doesn't mean that the enactment of settling them, and supporting them has stopped."

On April 30, the NDP introduced authorities to permanently admit September arsenic Ukrainian Heritage Month. The Sask. Party has yet to bespeak publically if it volition enactment the bill.