20,000 refugees from war-torn Ukraine could end up in Mississauga, mayor says
Published May 2, 2022 at 5:03 pm
Mississauga residents are opening up their hearts and their homes to thousands of Ukrainians fleeing their war-torn homeland, the city’s mayor says.
And Mississauga is prepared to do more, Mayor Bonnie Crombie told insauga.com publisher Khaled Iwamura during an Instagram interview last week.
Crombie says she’s been in close, regular contact with St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Mississauga as well as with other leaders of Mississauga’s Ukrainian community to determine what’s needed for as many as 20,000 refugees who could end up in this city in the coming months.
She noted a leadership team from Mississauga’s Ukrainian community “appealed to me to assist with their having a booth, a kiosk at Pearson Airport so when the refugees do arrive, they’re greeted properly by people who speak their language and who can assist them,” because the community “very much wants to help them; help them with jobs, help them with housing…and so far, they’ve been able to assist them and they really integrated them within the community.”
Crombie added that many Mississauga “empty nesters, who have extra space in their homes, have offered living accommodations, temporarily…until (the refugees) get on their feet or until there’s a resolution to the brazen attack on their sovereignty.”
Moving forward, Crombie said she doesn’t know the exact number of Ukrainian refugees that’ll end up in Mississauga, but it could be about 20,000.
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More than 40,000 Ukrainian refugees could make their way to Ontario in the near future. Some 375,000 people of Ukrainian origin are living in Ontario, more than any other place in Canada.
The Ontario government recently pledged supports valued at $300 million for Ukrainian families planning to relocate to the province as Russian armed forces continue to occupy their homeland.
Crombie said the outpouring of support has been tremendous in Mississauga and elsewhere.
She pointed to one group in particular as doing outstanding work to help refugees.
Ukrainian Medical Support is a group “…operating out of Sheridan Mall… packing up medical equipment, medical devices, blankets and pharmaceutical products and shipping them off to the Polish border and into Ukraine,” said Crombie.
She added a group of residents helped load a huge cargo plane recently at Pearson Airport.
“I’m so proud…of many residents who are coming out to lend a hand…and I heard a number of very generous offers to host fundraisers as well,” said Crombie.
The mayor urged people to reach out to her office or the Ukrainian Canadian Congress office in Toronto if they want to offer housing or employment to refugees.
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