Moncton Business Community Launches $1-Million Campaign To Support Ukrainian Refugees
MONCTON – Moncton’s business community is rallying in support of hundreds of displaced Ukrainians on their way to Moncton.
John Wishart, the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber and 30 local businesses have their sights on raising $1-million to support Ukrainian resettlement.
“We’re pretty optimistic we will hit that $1-million target,” Wishart said. “We’d like for this to be a quick campaign because we think the largest number of arrivals will be in the next couple of months.”
This move comes hot on the heels of the launch of a federal registry to help them find work upon arriving in Canada.
Wishart said the idea came up about three weeks ago, during a meeting between the chamber, Brainworks and Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe MP Ginette Petitpas Taylor, who suggested a campaign to help the Ukrainians coming to New Brunswick.
“We looked into it and discovered there could be 400-500 Ukrainians fleeing the war arriving in Southeast New Brunswick,” said Wishart.
“Our experience with the Syrian refugees in 2016 showed us the extent of the support that’s needed.”
The wrinkle for the Ukrainians fleeing the unprovoked Russian attack on their homeland is that they’re not classified as refugees; they’re coming to Canada under an open work visa permit.
“They won’t get all the federal support that refugees will get, so there are going to be gaps,” said Wishart. “Some of these people are just leaving Ukraine with a suitcase, so there will be a need for things like housing, transportation, childcare, clothing, food – you name it.”
Wishart said the biggest challenge will be finding a place for Ukrainian refugees to stay.
“Housing is a big challenge, especially affordable housing,” he said. “It is a major concern, even without hundreds of Ukrainians arriving. We’ve had a few landlords step up and say, ‘Hey, I have an apartment coming up at the end of the month, I’m willing to donate and maybe give them a couple of months of free or discounted rent just to get them started.’”
“Most of them are pretty senior business leaders, with pretty wide networks of contacts who will work with a master list of more than 400 people we’re going to reach out to initially – and part of this will be more general public campaigning.”
Part of the campaign involves giving donors a say in where their money goes. Wishart told Huddle there will be flexibility in where donations go
“If someone said, ‘I want to give $2,000, and want $1,000 for resettlement and $500 for humanitarian aid in Ukraine and $500 to help any refugee or newcomer in Moncton who arrives and needs help,’ we built that all into the pledged form,” Wishart noted.
The campaign includes businesses like the Delta Hotel and the Atlantic Ballet Atlantique Canada, which are donating proceeds from events like the Delta’s Mother’s Day Brunch and Atlantic Ballet’s anniversary show.
“Those sorts of grassroots are starting to pop up as well,” noted Wishart.
Wishart said the City of Moncton has assembled an Emergency Command Centre, through which it will coordinate donation efforts with organizations like the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area (MAGMA) and the Salvation Army and other frontline service providers for newcomers – and help find places for the refugees to stay.
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“The emergency center is looking at things like maybe using university residences or hotels for shorter-term to give them a place to stay,” he said.
The campaign itself is more interested in raising the money than deciding on where it goes. Wishart said donations are going through the United Way Canada.
“Those agencies know better, where, exactly the needs are,” he said.
Wishart noted there are already between 200 and 300 Ukrainians in Moncton, and the local Ukrainian community is already helping build connections and get them settled in.
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].