FILE PHOTO - Eric Bidewell holds a sign during a rally for Ukraine at Kelowna city hall, Feb. 27, 2022.

(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)

Roughly 100 Central Okanagan residents have expressed interest in hosting refugees, based on the numbers gathered from various recent Ukrainian support rallies.

The Dolyna Ukrainian Cultural Society president Peter Bihun said he's meeting with B.C. government officials as well as other members of other Ukrainian societies in the province to discuss the plan to distribute refugees across the province.

Last week, Premier John Horgan said ski hills, churches, campuses and homes are being prepared for Ukrainian refugees. Last month, Russia invaded the country, causing more than three million people to flee so far. It is considered to be Europe’s largest refugee crisis since the Second World War.

The number of people from Ukraine who might come to B.C. is not known, but it could be tens of thousands, Horgan said during a news conference last week.

The Dolyna cultural society has begun collecting names and contact information for those interested in hosting refugees and roughly 50 residents provided information, Bihun said. “We’ve been fielding more by phone, probably the same amount, so there’s been a huge interest.”

Bihun is now directing residents interested in hosting a refugee to go to the Ukrainian Canada Congress’ website here and fill out a form in an effort to centralize the information.

The province is still organizing how it will receive and place refugees, and Bihun is expecting an update on how the process will work.

“Somehow we have to put the right people with the right people and make sure they’re taking care of, so we’re working through how to establish that process,” he said.

He expects the province will have a public announcement regarding the process soon.

“All across B.C. now people like me are receiving information and we don’t really have a central location,” he said.

READ MORE: B.C. ski hills, churches, campuses and homes preparing for Ukrainian refugees: Horgan

Canada has the world's third-largest population of people with Ukrainian ancestry, because the prairie provinces and B.C. historically welcomed waves of immigrants from Ukraine, Horgan said. In the Central Okanagan, Bihun estimates there are roughly 14,000 residents with Ukrainian ancestry.

The B.C. government will provide a telephone line for people to offer help or services to those arriving from Ukraine.

“There are all kinds of people who are doing all kinds of sacrifices to help and it’s kind of moving,” Bihun said.

The federal government is accepting applications from Ukrainians and their families fleeing Russian aggression as part of a program allowing an unlimited number of Ukrainians to live and work in Canada as they decide on where to head next. Applications are expected to take two weeks to process.

READ MORE: Canada begins accepting applications for Ukrainians seeking temporary refuge from war

— With files from The Canadian Press

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