Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will co-chair a summit in Brussels on Monday aimed at accelerating the return of an estimated 20,000 Ukrainian minors who were forcibly moved to Russia or Russian-occupied territories. Speaking to The Canadian Press ahead of her departure, Anand said Ottawa is "doubling down" on practical measures—from forensic child-tracking to safe-passage logistics—to reunite families separated by the war. Canada co-founded the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children in late 2024 and has since provided forensic expertise, DNA-matching technology and financial support for NGOs operating extraction corridors. About 2,000 children have been reunited so far; Yale University researchers believe the real number of abductees could be as high as 35,000. At the Brussels meeting, Canada will pledge additional funding for mobile consular teams and announce a streamlined temporary resident pathway that allows reunited families to stay in Canada for up to three years while they recover and decide next steps. Officials say the special visa class can be processed in under five days and exempts applicants from biometric fees. The initiative has diplomatic as well as humanitarian significance. It reinforces Canada’s "network diplomacy" approach of partnering with non-traditional allies—such as Qatar and Chile—to pressure Russia and facilitate transfers. The work also feeds into Canada’s broader mobility agenda, which frames family reunification and child protection as pillars of a "values-based" immigration strategy. For multinational employers moving Ukrainian talent into Canada, the new pathway could make it easier to support relocating staff who have minor dependants still in the region. Immigration lawyers advise HR teams to monitor forthcoming ministerial instructions so they can integrate the option into mobility policies quickly.
Source: iNFOnews / The Canadian Press
