Mr. Speaker, last Friday a massive earthquake on the scale of 7.5 ripped through the Indian state of Gujarat, leaving tens of thousands homeless and killing others. The toll is 13,000 and rising. Thousands of children and families are in need of emergency aid as they are without food, water, shelter and medical supplies. The federal government has acted quickly by providing $3 million in aid.
I encourage the federal government to further its aid for the devastated region and to help foster international co-operation in order to establish preventive measures so such natural disasters would not be as tragic in the future.
I ask my colleagues to join me in encouraging and thanking Canadians for giving donations to humanitarian organizations to assist the victims of this terrible tragedy.