Mr. Speaker, KAIROS assists the world's poorest countries and is recognized as one of Canada's most respected and important charitable organizations. After nearly 40 years of funding from successive Liberal and Progressive Conservative governments, KAIROS has had its funding cut off because its programs do not “fit” with Reform-Conservative priorities.
As recently noted in media reports, this is money that would have been used to help resettle people who had lost their homes and livelihoods because of rising sea levels, or to help a legal clinic in the Congo that assists rape victims, among other crucial projects. These cuts are unconscionable and are nothing less than a censure against a Canadian multi-faith organization for speaking out against regressive Conservative policies on climate change, overseas mining operations, aboriginal rights, immigration and international trade.
The government must continue to fund KAIROS so it may continue its invaluable work in helping the world's poor.