The government of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan has announced a reduction in funding for the Ukrainian Canadian Congress - Provincial Council of Saskatchewan (UCC-SPC), which provides services for displaced Ukrainians.
This funding cut, effective May 1, was included in the budget presented earlier this year, reports CBS.
Canada reduces support for Ukrainian refugees: layoffs at UCC-SPC
The funding adjustment is part of a move back to normal budget levels.
At the onset of the full-scale invasion by Russia into Ukraine, the province's budget was increased to manage the influx of Ukrainian refugees.
«This reduction acknowledges that fewer people are utilizing these services. However, they are still available. Ukrainian refugees can also access all settlement services provided to other groups,» said Saskatchewan's Minister of Immigration and Career Training Jim Reiter.
Funding for UCC-SPC has been reduced by $500,000, but Reiter emphasized that no services have been discontinued.
As of Wednesday, UCC-SCP laid off five full-time and one part-time employee in Regina and Saskatoon due to the cuts.
«While the number of arrivals to Saskatchewan has decreased over the past year, this decision was unexpected,» said Olena Kruger, president of UCC-SPC.
She noted that the organization had been providing essential settlement services to those seeking refuge in Saskatchewan since the war began.
«It is disheartening that at a time when Russia continues to bomb Ukraine daily, and Ukrainian men, women, and children are suffering, the funding for necessary support services for those fleeing the war is being cut,» Kruger stated.
NDP MP for the Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood constituency, Keith Jorgenson, criticized the funding cuts, calling them wrong from both a moral and economic standpoint.
«Putin's war is ongoing, and Scott Moe himself stated in March that his government supports Ukraine and is willing to accept more people displaced by this destructive aggression, yet his actions suggest otherwise,» Jorgenson said.
He pointed out that many people still require support, even if the number of new arrivals has decreased.
The Liberal Party has won the elections in Canada again
In the recent Canadian elections, the ruling Liberal Party emerged victorious, which means former central bank head Mark Carney will remain as the head of the government.
However, Carney's party did not secure an absolute majority and is likely to form a minority government. In his campaign, Carney promised to confront U.S. President Donald Trump in the trade war.
Canada was electing a new government to counter the threat of annexation from the U.S. and to deal directly with President Donald Trump, whose trade war defined the election campaign.
