MP El-Khoury, you hit on a very important point.
Canada does not control the situation on the ground. The exits from Rafah are a particular example of that. We do our utmost under the circumstances. I have never and will never advise anyone to pay bribes or pay these types of exorbitant amounts to flee a war. I think it's unfair and unjust, but I'm not going to judge someone who actually decides to do it as a result.
We can do things we have within our power. This visa program, while it has not been as successful as we would have liked it to be, we still have hope for it. We have to preserve that hope. This is one area where we can act. We're going to help people that exit Rafah through their own means. Once they pass the screening process in Cairo, do the biometrics and are issued a visa, we will offer them a suite of supports inside Canada. Once they reach Canada, it will include interim health benefits for a period of three months until such point as the provinces take over settlement services. These are all the things you would expect for people fleeing war.
I spoke to both the Israeli and Egyptian ambassadors as late as last week. We continue our advocacy to make sure that this program continues to have some level of results, and that won't end. That is also coupled with all the initiatives that ministers Joly and Hussen are deploying on the international stage. In one case, there is international aid to make sure that people get the food and supplies they need to stay safe and alive, and in the other case, to put an end to this war through a comprehensive ceasefire.