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A former Alberta premier and former MLA are spearheading a donation campaign to airlift up to 35 tonnes of supplies to the people of Ukraine.
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Thomas Lukaszuk, former MLA for Edmonton-Castle Downs, said he and former premier Ed Stelmach decided they needed to “mobilize forces and generate support” amid Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine.
“I have been continuously in touch with our Canadian embassy in Warsaw, Poland, trying to appraise myself with the best information available on what is needed on the ground in Ukraine and also with now a million refugees in Poland,” said Lukaszuk.
He said they have come up with a list of goods needed in the two countries, including emergency medical equipment such as wheelchairs and stretchers, diapers, feminine hygiene products, items for seniors and items such as sleeping bags and other outdoor survival equipment for those that have been displaced from their homes.
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“All that is needed over there on an unprecedented level, so Mr. Stelmach and I put out calls to people we worked with when in government, to fire departments, to companies and to others to gather that more professional heavy equipment that is coming in at a wonderful rate, but now we’re putting word out to Albertans to start gathering the things that are available in store, that can be bought and donated,” said Lukaszuk.
Donations will be accepted Monday and Wednesday from 2 pm to 7 pm at the Polish Hall, 10960 104 St., in Edmonton.
The plane airlifting the supplies is a Boeing 787 Dreamliner donated by Polish Airlines LOT. Shell Canada is donating 50 tonnes of jet fuel to assist in the plane’s travel back to Poland.
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“We want to fill that plane. That plane has 35 tonnes of lifting capacity for cargo and I want every square inch of that plane to be filled and we are on our way to get to that goal,” said Lukaszuk.
He said once the plane lands in Warsaw with the supplies, there is already ground transport in place to put it together in a warehouse and then deliver it across the border to Ukraine where support is in place to receive and distribute the supplies.
“Ukraine right now is cut off from the world,” said Lukaszuk. “There are no imports coming in. Their infrastructure is destroyed and they’re going hungry. They have no basic needs met internally, so it’s only through Poland goods are entering Ukraine and Ukrainians are managing to escape through Poland,” he said.
Lukaszuk said he lived under martial law in Poland as a kid and Stelmach is of Ukrainian heritage, making this personal effort for them both.
The plane is tentatively scheduled to transport the supplies on March 28, Lukaszuk said.
