Lethbridge council to debate free bus passes for refugees

Legislation for an existing amendment by the City of Lethbridge to offer more aid to refugees in our city will be debated during Tuesday’s city council meeting. On July 5th council voted to allow free public transit for all refugees in Lethbridge. A local organization called Project Sunflower was in support of the idea, but the group’s spokesperson, Devon Hargreaves, said it didn’t take into account refugees coming to Lethbridge who have not been granted official refugee status and who are currently on work visas.

“The initial intent of this legislation was to include Ukrainians. I reached out and councillor Schmidt-Rempel quickly made an amendment, which will be presented at Lethbridge City Council tomorrow. I have no doubt that it will pass. I’m very thankful, as is the rest of Project Sunflower, that we have a city council that’s so approachable and that steps up to make sure that new arrivals to Lethbridge can be assisted in the best way we can.”

To date, Project Sunflower has helped place more than 70 Ukrainians into Lethbridge and southern Alberta.