Ukrainian newcomers in Sask. face months-long waitlist for English language classes
English training centre says some applicants wait as long as 4 months
Roughly 7,900 Ukrainian nationals have fled Russia's invasion to find a home in Saskatchewan, according to government estimates. But local Ukrainian groups and English training centres say opportunities to learn the language haven't kept pace.
Mykola Zakharchuk, settlement co-ordinator with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) in Saskatchewan, said many people who come from Ukraine can't speak or understand English. He said that, along with record immigration to Saskatchewan from other countries, contributes to a months-long backlog for classes.
Zakharchuk has been volunteering since the province started taking people in. He said he's worked six or seven days a week for the last two years.
He said he's seen situations that demonstrate the urgency for more English classes.
"We had a senior displaced Ukrainian who came here last year and she got lost on Eighth Street and she spoke basically no English. She was stressed out, she was walking on the street and didn't know how to talk to people. Eventually, someone got hold of us."
Zakharchuk spoke with the CBC in a Saskatoon classroom where UCC offers English classes. It was empty at the time.
"It's because we just don't have enough funding to run as many classes as needed, as we'd like to," he said.
"The issue hasn't emerged yesterday or today, it's been known for a while."
Zakharchuk said funding is just part of the problem. He said they also need community initiatives and volunteers.
The Russian invasion into Ukraine has cost thousands of Ukrainian civilians their lives, separate from the tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers who have died fighting the invasion so far.
In the two years since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, 2022, Russia has shown a willingness to tolerate hefty losses of soldiers, tanks and ships. As of February, the war has displaced 6.5 million Ukrainians, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Dmytro Nimchynksyi moved to Saskatoon from Ukraine earlier this month. He said he still remembers waking up to air raid sirens.
"It's scary sometimes, you can hear the drones, the rockets, stuff like that," he said.
He said his move to Saskatchewan was also motivated by declining work opportunities in Ukraine as a result of the war.
As part of its language and settlement services, the Saskatchewan government requires newcomers to give a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) test that assesses their current English proficiency. Newcomers can only enrol for certain classes after they've taken that test.
Nimchynksyi can speak English, but he is still on a month-long waitlist to write the test. Nimchynksyi said he's still looking for work and fluency in English could be pivotal.
Once he takes that test, he then has an entirely new hurdle to cross — enrolling for the classes.
"I've heard that hiring managers look at the level of English. If I fail [get a lower CLB level], it would be quite hard to wait five months to start my classes and improve my English."
The Saskatchewan Intercultural Association (SIA) is a government-listed organization for English training. Nafiseh Zamani, language program co-ordinator with SIA, said the organization currently has 430 students enrolled at its centres across Saskatoon.
Zamani said the waitlist has more than 70 applicants and the average wait time is two to three months, with some students waiting more than four months. Zamani said those waits could have significant repercussions for newcomers trying to settle in.
"If they don't know English they can't get a driving licence. They can't even address their basic needs in Canada," Zamani said.
SIA has 29 locations across Saskatoon. It prioritizes Ukrainians with a lower English proficiency, but Zamani said every day that they miss out on a class is one day too many.
"You need language for your social life, for your employment, for family life," she said.
When asked about months-long waitlists for English classes, a spokesperson with Saskatchewan's Ministry of Immigration and Career Training said in an emailed response that the province is spending $14.4 million on settlement related programming like language training, employment supports and community services.
"The province works closely with service providers to align funding with demand to ensure classes are accessible to newcomers who need them," the statement said.
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