Canada is giving money again to the United Nations to help Palestinian refugees in the Near East. Canada will also help send supplies to Gaza from the air.
Ahmed Hussen, tasked with providing aid to other nations, stated on Friday that they had decided to help the Palestinian people in need.They want to act quickly to help them.
Canada and other countries stopped giving money to UNRWA because they think some UNRWA workers helped Hamas attack Israel in October. On July 7, 2023.
Hussen said that Canada has looked at the UN’s preliminary report and is happy with what it says. He also mentioned that UNRWA is working to improve how it oversees, is accountable, and is transparent.
“Canada will help other countries and organizations to make sure that the suggestions from the OIOS investigation and independent review are followed through,” said a statement from Hussen’s office that came with the minister’s announcement.
No payments were missed when the pause started in January. The Canadian government will send $25 million to the agency in April. Hussen said this is to make sure the organization doesn’t fail, because it’s really important for helping people in the area.
“I was in Rafah just two weeks ago and met brave Canadian volunteers who were working hard to save lives in Gaza. ” I saw many trucks with important supplies stuck at the border,unable to go through.
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Hussen said Canada will help the government of Jordan and the World Food Programme give important supplies to Gaza by dropping them from the air.
The government is giving $100,000 to buy food, blankets, and warm clothes.
The Canadian military will give the Royal Jordanian Air Force about 300 cargo parachutes from the Canadian Army Advanced Warfare Centre in Trenton, Ont. , to help with airdrops.
The minister said these parachutes will help deliver 75 tons of supplies to Gaza, where there is a really bad humanitarian situation getting worse each hour.
Hussen pointed out that Canada is the first G7 country to start giving money to UNRWA again.
In an interview on CTV News, Canada’s UN Representative Bob Rae was asked why he thought it was necessary to resume funding.
Rae explained that the humanitarian situation is terrible, and the government can’t wait any longer for the Israeli government to share information about the UNRWA probe because it’s taking too much time.
He said that the information from Israel is coming slowly, and Israel has not met with the investigating team yet.
Rae said we need to move. “We can’t let the investigation work stop us from helping people in need. I think we are doing the right thing. ” I believe it considers everyone’s opinions, but it puts the most focus on helping the people who need it the most.
Rae also told CTV News that the pressure and protests in Canada about how politicians are dealing with the Israel-Gaza war did not affect the government’s decision in this case.
The Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) said they are happy that Canada is starting to give money again. They mentioned that many people in society didn’t like the decision to stop the funding.
However, CJPME also warned about the airdrop plans, mentioning that five people in Gaza were killed when an aid package parachute didn’t work properly.
Earlier this week, Canada’s future funding for UNRWA was uncertain. NDP MP Heather McPherson said the Liberals were uncertain about what to do while people were dying. Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman called Friday’s decision “vile. “