Mike Lloyd for CityNews writes, “as communities across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley reach out to offer help to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion of their country, it is not without some backlash. A quick scan of the online comments after local media coverage of refugees being accommodated on the South Coast shows sentiment from some who believe British Columbians need to come first in such an expensive place to live.
But one advocate says, on the ground, support for Ukrainians has been overwhelming. “It’s not just here in B.C., but throughout the whole world, refugees, asylum-seekers, migrants and other internally displaced people are always the victims of racial discrimination,” says Alexandra Dawley, senior manager of the Refugee Settlement and Integration Program at the non-profit organization MOSAIC.”