Mr. Speaker, it is time for the Burmese dictatorship to stop playing politics when people's lives are at stake. We are alarmed by the reports that the military junta is seizing international aid shipments from the World Food Programme. This is unprecedented and must stop. This dictatorial regime's response to this disaster is just the most recent example of its failure to meet the basic needs of the Burmese people.
Canada stands ready to help. We have pledged $2 million in aid. We have offered our disaster assistance response team. The Minister of Foreign Affairs personally assured the UN Secretary-General that Canada is there for the Burmese people.
The military junta must let aid agencies do their work and allow international aid workers to enter the country during this period of crisis. Given the widespread and devastating effect of the tropical cyclone Nargis, Canada calls upon the military junta to focus on meeting the immediate needs of the people rather than pursuing its own narrow interests.