Nova Scotia lawyers working pro bono to help settle Ukrainians fleeing war

A group of lawyers is working pro bono to help Ukrainians fleeing the conflict in their country to find a safe refuge in Nova Scotia.

The war in Ukraine has created the worst humanitarian crisis in Europe since the Second World War. More than 1.5 million refugees have already crossed into neighbouring countries, and authorities have announced a new ceasefire to allow civilians to escape from towns around the capital, Kyiv, as well as several southern cities and Sumy in the northeast.

Lawyer Igor Yushchenko, who emigrated from Ukraine 11 years ago and runs IY Law in Halifax, watched helplessly as news reports showed civilians being killed in his home country.

With no phone or internet service in many regions, Yushchenko said he was unable to reach relatives and feared the worst had happened to his parents, who remained in Ukraine.

At 2 a.m. AT on Saturday, he was reunited with his parents after their four-day voyage to Nova Scotia — a trip that would normally have taken 10 hours.

"It's still a psychological trauma for them," Yushchenko told CBC Radio's Information Morning Halifax. "They've been talking to their relatives and friends every single day and get not very positive feedback."

Jason Woycheshyn, president of the Ukrainian-Canadian Bar Association, is working with others in the legal and Ukrainian-Canadian communities to keep up with changes introduced by Ottawa and to remove any barriers to Ukrainians looking to make Nova Scotia their home. 

"We've had numerous discussions with elected officials, including at the provincial government level, to garner support from them to ensure that those who do want to come to Nova Scotia, we welcome as many as we can," said Woycheshyn, a partner with the Halifax firm Stewart McKelvey.

"The application process has changed, and our team of immigration lawyers that we've put together ... are watching those developments in real time and are available to assist in each of the Atlantic provinces."

According to Woycheshyn, navigating the necessary forms is especially difficult for people who don't speak English, and it is important to have both the legal and language expertise to assist people in submitting them.

Yushchenko said it is impossible to predict how many Ukrainians will come to the region, but he expects hundreds to arrive soon.

He said lawyers have been working closely with the Nova Scotia government and he anticipates there will be new applications coming for the provincial skilled worker stream as well as federal immigration programs. 

As an immigrant himself, he said he believes language will be a major challenge — along with finding housing in a tight market.

Yushchenko said lawyers are meeting with business owners and homeowners to try and arrange housing for immigrants arriving from Ukraine. 

Meanwhile, Woycheshyn said his inbox has been inundated with offers of assistance from other lawyers and people in the business community who want to employ Ukrainians and facilitate housing.

He said he anticipates psychotherapy will also have to be delivered in the appropriate language, and that will have to be put in place soon.

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