Prime Minister Justin Trudeau got a better sense Thursday of the refugee crisis washing over Poland from the war zone in neighbouring Ukraine.
He met with Polish President Andrzej Duda, who praised Canada — and the prime minister in particular — for Canada’s offers of assistance, while stating that his country is counting on those promises being kept.
The two leaders discussed how to quickly get refugees who want to go to Canada onto flights. One of the options being considered is some form of airlift.
Duda said his country has absorbed about 1.5 million of the roughly two mill
ion people who have fled in the face of last month’s Russian invasion.
“In the future we could have a deep, deep crisis,” said Duda, who gave impromptu remarks to the Canadian journalists following Trudeau on his tour of Europe.
Just a few blocks from the presidential palace, Warsaw’s main train station was a sea of humanity on Thursday as thousands of newly arrived Ukrainian refugees — most of them women and children — lined up for food, medical care and a place to stay.
Many people in Poland are opening their doors to take in tired and bewildered strangers who have left behind husbands, fathers, brothers, sons and other relatives to the relentless Russian bombardment of cities.
Trudeau visited a Warsaw hostel housing 15 refugees from five different families. He spoke to some of them with the help of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who did the translation.
“I just want to tell you that we are watching what’s happening in Ukraine every single day from around the world,” Trudeau told the families. “And we are all standing with you and we all want this to be over as [quickly] as possible.”
Trudeau is expected to meet with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also in the Polish capital and met with Duda earlier in the day.
The prime minister announced Canada would increase its matching donations to the Red Cross by $20 million — money that goes to support immediate and ongoing relief efforts in the region. In addition, half of Canada’s $100 million contribution to humanitarian aid in the region will be earmarked for the Ukrainian crisis.
Trudeau also said his government will invest $117 million in efforts to speed up refugee applications.
CBC/MS
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