Mr. Speaker, as I outlined in my speech, our aid will be distributed through agencies that have a proven record and that have people on the ground and are successful in getting aid to the people and to the areas that most need the aid.
I am extraordinarily proud of the fact that I come from a riding that has a very large Sri Lankan Tamil Canadian population. I have a riding where two Tamil Canadian business people took a failed business, turned it around and made it success through hard work and determination. Ultimately, they have become great members of this community. They came to me and said, “Paul, please, we have to do something”.
I am very proud that the minister announced today that we would be providing essential aid and that the aid would be distributed through agencies, as I mentioned earlier, that have a proven track record in distributing aid. Oxfam and Médecins sans Frontières are agencies that have a record of getting the job done.
I am proud of the fact that our government has taken the step to ensure the people of Sri Lanka who are suffering will get the aid they deserve.