(Montreal) Inna Gonchukova never expected to live in Canada. But almost two years after fleeing war-torn Ukraine, she says she has largely adjusted to life in Granby, in Estrie, although she looks forward to one day returning to her homeland and reuniting with her husband who stayed behind.
Posted at 6:31 p.m.
Thomas MacDonald The Canadian Press
“My husband has his war and I have my own war here because I have to give my children the best future,” Ms. Gonchukova said in a telephone interview on Saturday.
However, she says the future is uncertain. She plans to stay in Quebec and has even taken French courses, but doesn't know if she will have time to develop her language skills and prepare for the exam she will have to take to prove her French proficiency, a requirement for many of the country's immigration programs Province.
It is not so easy. You have to prepare and have time. Since I am a single mother of two children and work a lot, it is difficult to prepare and find the time.
Inna Gonchukova
Ms. Gonchukova is one of the Ukrainians displaced to Quebec who are unsure whether they can meet French requirements. Like many Ukrainians, she came to Canada through a federal program that allows her to stay and work in the country for three years, called the Canada-Ukraine Emergency Travel Authorization.
Beneficiaries have until the end of March to apply for an extension of their temporary residency status.
However, immigration lawyer Nataliya Dzera says that even with an extension, it will be difficult for some members of the community to reach the level of French proficiency often required to immigrate to Quebec.
Ms. Dzera works with Ukrainians displaced by the war and says many arrived in Quebec with little or no knowledge of French because they never expected to live in the province. Two years later, however, French has become key for some people looking to settle permanently in what was once a temporary refuge.
“But it won’t be easy and not everyone will be able to do it,” Ms. Dzera said of Ukrainians trying to learn French while supporting their families and meeting their other professional demands.
An update to Quebec's immigration policy last year made French proficiency mandatory for all major economic immigration programs and deprived some people of the ability to immigrate without taking a language test. French, explained Ms. Dzera.
Other immigration flows, such as humanitarian and family reunification programs, are more limited in scope and likely inaccessible to many Ukrainians, she added.
Gontchukova says she could seek sponsorship from her employer or even return to Europe and apply for permanent residency outside of Canada.
Tetiana Iriohlu is another displaced Ukrainian who says her life was turned upside down when the Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022. She and her two daughters eventually settled in Longueuil and she hopes to stay there. Ms. Iriohlu has also taken French courses and plans to apply for permanent residency. She states that she has already passed part of the required French oral expression test and is preparing for a second oral comprehension test.
She is confident in her success and says she has benefited from the support of the Ukrainian and Quebec communities. Others don't have this privilege, she emphasized.
“Many single mothers who came with children didn’t know English or French,” she said. And they take low-skilled jobs, which significantly limits their ability to apply for permanent residency, and they still have to learn French. This mission is extremely difficult. »