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Canada Offers Three Years of Temporary Residency to Ukrainians

Thousands of Canadians held rallies in cities across the country to protest Russia's invasion on Ukraine. Source: Andrej Ivanov/AFP
Thousands of Canadians held rallies in cities across the country to protest Russia's invasion on Ukraine. Source: Andrej Ivanov/AFP
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Canada Offers Three Years of Temporary Residency to Ukrainians

Thousands of Canadians held rallies in cities across the country to protest Russia's invasion on Ukraine. Source: Andrej Ivanov/AFP
Thousands of Canadians held rallies in cities across the country to protest Russia's invasion on Ukraine. Source: Andrej Ivanov/AFP

Ottawa announced Thursday it is establishing a new immigration program that will offer Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion a temporary Canadian residence permit for up to three years.

Canada, which has a large Ukrainian diaspora, especially in the center and west of the country, said in a statement that "Ukrainians and their immediate family members of any nationality may stay in Canada as temporary residents for up to three years."

Applicants are required to apply online and provide their biometric data in the form of fingerprints and a photo, AFP said.

Ukrainian refugees can simultaneously apply for a work and study permit.

Ukrainians and their families already settled on Canadian soil will also benefit from the new measures and can "extend their visitor status or work permit for 3 years, apply for a new work or study permit, or extend their existing permit."

According to a United Nations count released Thursday, more than three million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the deadly Russian invasion on February 24, more than half of whom have taken refuge in Poland.

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Cuba Left Reeling after Hurricane Ravages Island

A man rides a bicycle along a flooded street after the passage of Hurricane Rafael in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba, on November 7, 2024. (Photo by Yamil LAGE / AFP)
A man rides a bicycle along a flooded street after the passage of Hurricane Rafael in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba, on November 7, 2024. (Photo by Yamil LAGE / AFP)
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Cuba Left Reeling after Hurricane Ravages Island

A man rides a bicycle along a flooded street after the passage of Hurricane Rafael in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba, on November 7, 2024. (Photo by Yamil LAGE / AFP)
A man rides a bicycle along a flooded street after the passage of Hurricane Rafael in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba, on November 7, 2024. (Photo by Yamil LAGE / AFP)

Cuba was left reeling Thursday after a fierce Category 3 hurricane ripped across the island, knocking out the country’s power grid, downing trees and damaging infrastructure. No fatalities were immediately reported.
Hurricane Rafael crossed a western portion of Cuba on Wednesday evening about 75 kilometers west of Havana.
Some 50,000 people took shelter in Havana, with thousands more doing the same in regions south and just west of the capital since they lived in flood zones or in flimsy homes. The main road from Havana to the southern coastal city of Batabanó was strewn with dozens of utility poles and wires.
Lázaro Guerra, electricity director for the Ministry of Energy and Mines, said power had been partially restored in the island’s western region and that generation units were powering back up. But he warned that restoring power would be slow-going as crews took safety precautions.
As Rafael plowed across Cuba on Wednesday evening it slowed to a Category 2 hurricane as it chugged into the Gulf of Mexico before heading toward Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Late Thursday morning, the hurricane was located about 200 miles (320 kilometers) west-northwest of Havana. It had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (345 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 9 mph (15 kph).
Earlier in the week, Rafael brushed past Jamaica and battered the Cayman Islands, downing trees and power lines and unleashing heavy flooding in some areas.
Authorities in Jamaica are searching for a couple last seen inside a car that was swept away by floodwaters, police told Radio Jamaica News.
Thousands of customers in Jamaica and Little Cayman remained without power as crews worked to restore electricity after the storm.
Rafael was expected to keep weakening as it spins over open waters and heads toward northern Mexico, although the hurricane center warned there was “above average uncertainty” in the storm's future track.
Meanwhile, many Cubans were left picking up the pieces from Wednesday night, after a rocky few weeks in the Caribbean nation. In October, the island was hit by a one-two punch. First, it was hit by island-wide blackouts stretching on for days, a product of the island’s energy crisis. Shortly after, it was slapped by powerful hurricane that struck the eastern part of the island and killed at least six people.
The disasters have stoked discontent already simmering in Cuba amid an ongoing economic crisis, which has pushed many to migrate from Cuba.
Classes and public transport were suspended on parts of the island and authorities canceled flights in and out of Havana and Varadero. Thousands of people in the west of the island had been evacuated as a preventative measure.
Rafael is the 17th named storm of the season.