Ukrainians in Quebec plead for support for their homeland in face of Russian invasion

Watching from afar as Russian shells explode above her Ukrainian hometown of Karkiv, Quebec City resident Olga Grayvoronska Sharpe goes through a roller coaster of emotions.

"I feel despair. I feel anger. I feel all kinds of emotion at the same time, and I hope and plead the international community not to stand by silently," she says.

Sharpe has a message for her loved ones, including her mother and brother, still in Ukraine.

"We are doing the best we can to let the message, let the need of Ukraine be heard here," she says.

Like so many other Ukrainian Quebecers, Sharpe refuses to feel paralyzed in the face of a war 7,000 kilometres away. 

A group of demonstrators gathered in front of the Russian consulate in Montreal on Friday, flying Ukrainian flags and holding up signs. There was also an anti-war protest on Thursday in front of McGill University's Roddick Gates.

Katherine Smolynec, head of the Montreal branch of the Ukrainian National Federation, says she is touched by the outpouring of support from Montrealers. One even dropped by the federation to leave a bouquet of yellow roses, she said.

Smolynec said there is a great need for financial support, but it's also important that people urge the Canadian government to do more to intervene against Russia in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.

"Contact your MP. Write your MP, and phone your MP, and say you support Ukraine, and you want more sanctions and more defensive weapons sent," she said.

'Help us that we don't fall'

"On an individual basis, there are also a number of avenues in which people can contribute financially," said Smolynec. "An important one in Canada is the Canada-Ukraine Foundation."

Lubomyr Luciuk, a Ukrainian-Canadian professor of political geography at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ont., said the people of Ukraine need help.

"What Ukraine keeps on saying is 'help us. Help us now. Help us so that we don't fall, so we don't collapse,'" said Luciuk.

Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated on Friday his pledge to welcome any future Ukrainian refugees to the province. He said his government is looking into ways to become a safe haven.

"Obviously there are Ukrainians who have left Ukraine, and we are looking at neighbouring countries to be able to bring a certain number of them here," Legault said.

"A lot of Ukrainians want to get out of Ukraine, so it may be easier, among other things, to go and help near Ukraine. That's part of what we're looking at with the federal government."

Legault said he is also looking at ways for Quebec to levy sanctions of its own against Russia, to "penalize Mr. Putin and Russia as much as possible, both in terms of purchases and sales."

His government is making an inventory of Quebec companies that do business with Russia in order to assess the impact of such measures.

Legault said Quebec's trade with Russia only amounts to around $200 million per year, but every possible avenue is being explored, "including the sale of Russian products."

The Ukrainian flag is flying over the National Assembly in Quebec City until Sunday to show support for that beleaguered nation.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante made a similar announcement about the flag yesterday, and the Olympic stadium will be lit up in the blue and gold colours of the Ukrainian flag Friday evening.