Alberta provides $12M to support Ukrainian students

The province of Alberta announced Monday it is providing $12.3 million in funding to help Ukrainian students that have fled the war.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith made the announcement Monday in Sherwood Park at St. Nicholas School, and said the funding is part of Alberta’s efforts to “support Albertans of Ukrainian descent and Ukrainian evacuees.”

“Ukrainians have been part of Alberta since before this land was even a province,” Smith said. “They came here with a dream to make a better life for their families and to live in freedom. Alberta’s government takes great pride in its historical connections with Ukraine. And in recent months, our relationship has taken on added significance as Ukraine defends itself against ongoing Russian aggression.”

“As we witness in horror Russia’s war on Ukraine. Alberta’s government is taking action, welcoming people and families helping them access health coverage, assisting them to get financial support, find work and apply for Alberta ID including driver’s licenses,” Smith said.

The province’s funding is largely to support Ukrainian students adjusting to Alberta’s education system. There will be more funding in March 2023 for Ukrainian students who arrive midway through the school year.

Education Minister Adriana LaGrange says use for the funding will be up to the school authorities’ discretion, adding the purpose is for support and for language development, saying, “It’s there for all of those things.”

“We also know that some of our children are suffering from PTSD and other mental health issues as a result of the war, and we want to make sure that those supports are there for those kids as well,” LaGrange said.

The provincial government is providing funding to school authorities experiencing “significant growth” through the Supplemental Enrolment Growth grant.

The grant, which was announced in August, will provide additional funding for each school authority that amounts to around $1,500 at minimum, and just over $5,000 maximum. It is based on the number of students enrolled in the school.

Ukrainian students are also included in that grant.

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Since the war started, 2,200 students have been identified as Ukrainian evacuees.

The students are in 612 schools in 58 different school authorities.

Seventy-five per cent of Ukrainian students are enrolled in the four metro schools, which are the Edmonton Catholic Schools, Edmonton Public Schools, Calgary Board of Education, and the Calgary Catholic School District.

Smith apologized for comments she made about the Ukraine-Russia war, where she said that “…the only answer for Ukraine is neutrality.”

The remarks were made early in the year during an Ask Me Anything live stream on a members-only crowdfunding website, locals.com.

When asked about a possible peace plan for Russia and Ukraine, she said Ukraine should be “neutral” and “denuclearize.”