Ville de Laval is helping out to help Ukrainians.
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In an interview with TVA Nouvelles, Mayor Stéphane Boyer announced a donation of $20,000 to the Red Cross. The municipality also wishes to mobilize its community organizations and citizens to welcome Ukrainian refugees.
“It is certain that we are far from what is happening in Ukraine, physically, but we are a city that is open to the world and we have a great cultural diversity on our territory. So we want to be able to contribute within our means,” says Stéphane Boyer.
Laval could accommodate up to 2,000 Ukrainians, estimates Mayor Boyer.
“We have good schools and we have a lot of companies looking for workers,” he explains.
Stéphane Boyer also hopes to inspire the mayors of other municipalities to get their hands dirty.
“You can feel far from the conflict. Ukraine is not next door, but we have the privilege of living in a community that is peaceful, dynamic and open to the world. I’m sure that if we reversed the roles and it was Canada that was at war today, we would be very happy, as a municipality, if other cities elsewhere in the world wanted to help us,” said the mayor of Laval.
According to the UN, more than 500,000 Ukrainians have already fled the country since the Russian invasion.
“Many of these people will find themselves in precarious conditions, in refugee camps. They will need immediate assistance,” says Stéphane Boyer.
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Reference-www.journaldemontreal.com