Operation Ukrainian Safe Haven
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As part of the Government of Canada’s resolute support to Ukrainians, the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAET) was introduced in March 2022 to support the people of Ukraine by offering Ukrainians a temporary status and ability to work, study and stay in Canada until it is safe for them to return home. Between March 17, 2022, and March 23, 2024, a total of 286,752 displaced Ukrainians have arrived under CUAET program in Canada.
This report is also available in PDF format.
Additionally, recognizing Canadians’ generosity and the interest expressed by Canadian businesses in supporting Canada’s response to the crisis in Ukraine, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) launched the Canadian Industry for Ukraine donation portal in early May 2022. The program enables businesses to donate high-priority goods and services, and funding to support displaced Ukrainians and other displaced people in need who are making Canada their home.
This report elaborates on management of the donation by the Canadian Tire Corporation as guided by Operation Ukrainian Safe Haven – Opération havre de paix pour les Ukrainiens (OUSH-OHPU) Corporate Donation Manual, the allocation and distribution of donations informed by data, along with impact stories from the ground
On January 10, 2024, Canadian Tire Corporation made a generous donation of $150,000 (3000 gift cards with $50 denomination each) to support displaced Ukrainians and other newcomers with immediate needs. The gift cards were in different banners including the Canadian Tire, SportChek, Sports Experts and Mark’s, providing the flexibility for partner organisations to select based on identified needs.
OUSH-OHPU worked with ten provincial and territorial coordinating partners to allocate and coordinate the donation (see Annex 1 for Corporate Donation Process Map). To ensure equity between provinces and territories, the donation was allocated based on available data including Financial Assistance data from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) which provides percentages of displaced Ukrainians who applied for financial assistance in each province. In coordination with the provincial partners, the settlement agencies distributed the donated gift cards to displaced Ukrainians in their communities.
Provincial and Territorial Coordinators, alternatively known as Provincial/Territorial coordinators, play a key role as essential sector partners. They contribute significantly to needs assessment, provincial allocation, and the seamless distribution of donations within their respective provinces. OUSH-OHPU maintains a close collaboration with provincial coordinators, convening biweekly meetings at the Provincial Coordination Table. The meetings play important role in implementing a collective response effort to support displaced Ukrainians in Canada.
The table below illustrates the allocation process which is based on the Financial Assistance from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) in each province indicating percentages of displaced Ukrainians in the provinces, to ensure equity in the allocation between provinces and territories.
Our Approach: together with its provincial coordinating partners, OUSH-OHPU implemented the approach to ensure Canadian Tire Corporation’s generous donation is directed towards meeting the immediate needs while taking into account accessibility for the intended clients.
Meeting the immediate needs.
The Canadian Tire Corporation donation was utilized to address the immediate needs of displaced Ukrainians in Canada. To facilitate an impactful distribution, the donor was requested for gift cards which were standardized to a $50 denomination, ensuring the efforts contribute to requirements of the recipient clients.
Ensuring accessibility.
In order to facilitate clients’ access to the donation based on assessed needs, four banners of gift cards were identified and requested: Sport Chek, sports experts, Mark’s and the Canadian Tire. The requested banners were identified by our PT Hub coordinating partners in each province.
In total, OUSH allocated 3,000 gift cards: 477 Sport Chek, , 72 Mark’s and 2,451 Canadian Tire.
Following the shipment of gift cards to provincial and territorial coordinating partners by the donor, these partners then proceeded to distribute the cards to the pertinent settlement agencies in their respective provinces. Settlement agencies across various communities in Canada then took charge of distributing these gift cards to displaced Ukrainians and other individuals facing displacement and in need across the country.
Gift cards were mailed to 80 service provider organizations that distributed gift cards to displaced Ukrainians and other displaced people across all provinces.
ESDC Financial Assistance (%) | AB | BC | MB | NB | NL | NS | ON | PEI | QC | SK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(data from June 14, 2023) | 20.78% | 10.08% | 10.91% | 1.81% | 1.47% | 2.40% | 39.48% | 0.14% | 9.94% | 2.95% |
Canadian Tire | 642 | 210 | 309 | 51 | 41 | 41 | 902 | 5 | 206 | 43 |
Mark’s | - | - | - | - | - | 28 | - | - | 44 | - |
Sports experts | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Sport Chek | - | 90 | - | - | - | - | 301 | - | 44 | 42 |
OUSH-OHPU has created an interactive map for Canadian Tire Corporation donation to visualize where gift cards were distributed. The visualization depicts the amounts of distribution for each province and territory, breakdown for each banner, and number of service provider organisations in each province.
In total, 3,000 gift cards were distributed to displaced Ukrainians throughout the country:
These stories showcase a variety of perspectives: hearing from displaced Ukrainians themselves, from the volunteers lending a hand, and the settlement workers coordinating donations on the ground.
Due to financial limitations, the videos are not professionally produced; however, they will be shared on OUSH-OHPU’s online platforms, including web and social media. Given the sensitive nature of Russia’s full-scale illegal invasion of Ukraine, we offered participants the opportunity to refrain from revealing their identities.
This video is intended to give donors a further sense of the impact of corporate donations in supporting displaced Ukrainians, including the reach of the donation
The OUSH-OHPU National Steering Committee recognized the Canadian Tire Corporation contribution during its biweekly meeting where around 100 representatives from Federal, Provincial and Territorial Governments, Settlement Sector and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress convene to link resources and bridge communications for a successful collective response to supporting Ukrainians in Canada.
Operation Ukrainian Safe Haven – Opération havre de paix pour les Ukrainiens (OUSH-OHPU), the Government of Canada, provincial and territorial coordinating partners and settlement agencies would like to join their voices to those of the displaced Ukrainians to thank the Canadian Tire Corporation for their generous donation and the impact it has had in the lives of displaced people in need. Дякую!