As the two-year anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches, the federal government announces it will spend nearly $500,000 to expand access to basic legal advice for Ukrainians seeking temporary resettlement in Canada. did.
The three-year funding line will not pay for attorneys’ fees to advocate on behalf of individual clients, but will be used to expand Pro Bono Ontario’s hotline, trilingual website and support programs to a national audience .
“This funding will enable Pro Bono Ontario to work with other pro bono organizations across the country to provide front-line legal support to early investigations,” Justice Minister Arif Virani said in Toronto on Tuesday. Stated.
“It does not function as a de facto legal aid system…it provides so-called summary advice, initial investigations, matters to be clarified and so on.”
Pro Bono Ontario, an organization that provides free legal advice to low-income people in Ontario, has already established a webpage and hotline So that Ukrainians can ask questions over the phone.
The new funding will support a website and hotline to help displaced Ukrainians across Canada get the help they need.
Virany said the $475,788 will also help provide free basic legal advice to Ukrainians who are coming to Canada or who are already here.
Under the Canada-Ukraine Emergency Travel Authorization (CUAET), which began in March 2022, Ukrainians will be allowed to come to Canada to live and work for up to three years. Program participants will benefit from a range of measures aimed at speeding up the visa process, including priority processing and fee waivers.
From March 17, 2022 to January 27, 2024, 221,231 Ukrainians came to Canada under the CUAET program. The federal government said it received 1,189,320 applications for the program during the same period, of which 958,190 were approved.
Olha Senyshyn, a staff attorney at Pro Bono Ontario who specializes in legal assistance to Ukrainians, said the program helps people understand their options.
“There are more questions about people’s status in general,” Senyshyn said. “Some of it is about permanent residency and some of it is about understanding how long you can stay in Canada.”
Senyshyn said people are turning to Pro Bono Ontario for advice on things like extending work and study permits, getting housing, enrolling their children in school and navigating the health care system.
Those with questions that Pro Bono Ontario cannot answer on our website or over the phone will be referred to partner organizations in their area who can connect them with local lawyers and community groups.
